Los Angeles Lakers: Alex Caruso, J.R. Smith shine in scrimmage

The Los Angeles Lakers were able to win their final scrimmage game against the Washington Wizards, as players stepped up with their stars out.

With the NBA season set to resume soon, the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up their scrimmage schedule with the win over the Washington Wizards. In the win, the Lakers notably had LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Kyle Kuzma all sitting out.

Since the stars of the Lakers were out, this game could have gotten pretty ugly for them in their final scrimmage. However, the Lakers had some players step up in the win, and that is a very encouraging sign.

One of the players that had a great game was J.R. Smith. The Lakers brought in Smith after Avery Bradley opted out of the season. While Smith has a lot of good experience, he hasn’t played meaningful basketball in quite some time.

In the win over the Wizards, you wouldn’t have known that, as he looked fantastic. Smith ended up totaling 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field in just 25 minutes. For Smith, he used this opportunity to showcase what he can still do. The Lakers’ rotations are going to be fluid for the rest of the seeding period, so Smith has a chance to get a meaningful spot in the rotation if he plays like that.

While Smith played very well, the Lakers also received a strong performance from Alex Caruso. With Bradley and Rondo out, Caruso is a very important player for the Lakers now at the point guard position.

Bradley was one of the best defenders on the team, and Caruso is the most likely person to try and fill that void. Against the Wizards, Caruso showed some signs on the offensive end of the court with 17 points and six assists.

Caruso being able to be a bit of a playmaker could come in handy for the Lakers, as they will be trying to find someone to run the offense with James off the court.

Overall, the Lakers looked pretty solid in the scrimmages and we will get to see them in real action on July 30th against the Los Angeles Clippers.