Ivica Zubac took Center Stage as Brandon Ingram, Lakers debut in the Desert: Lakers Summer Game 1

Chants of, 

"Zooooob  ...Zoooob ...." filled the arena very soon after tip-off Friday Night at Thomas & Mack.

Although Zubac looked a bit awkward at tip-off, Zoob shined on both sides of the ball; Lakers have struck gold in Round Two AGAIN

Dude, I mean Zoob, looked good in warm-ups hitting turn-around shots from either side of the backboard.  He may have missed one shot.

THAT is how it goes for him in the game.  Zoobie, and yes, there were chants of,

"ZOO-BIE...  ZOOoooBie...ZOOBIE.." loudly in unison at UNLV as Lakers Fans dominate the space like Ivica Zubac did in the paint Friday Night.  

These chants were much like last year when Larry Nance Jr. fly-swatted an attempt at the rim by Philadelphia top pick (2015: 3 overall) Jahlil Okafor, and we heard a resounding, "LA-RRY.. LAR-EE LARRY  LARRY." (it was awesome).  We heard the "LARRY chant again, especially when HE hammered one of Hield's shots going towards the basket.

Lakers D was swarmin and they were Blocking Buddy so he as not gettin Buckets.  Nance-Jr. Slams one off the glass

His teammates have been calling him Zublocka.

Did you know that his favorite Star Wars character is Zewbacca?

His favorite driving service?

Zuber.

And when asked if he was excited to be a Laker, Ivica said,

"Zu-betcha."

I would be doing a diservice to cheesy Vegas Lounge Play of all kinds if I did not throw that fondue all over the wall.  Zublock Nation is underway and there is NOTHING you can do about it.  Zoob is good.  Damn good.

The Pelicans could do nothing against the interior defense of the Lakers Friday Night and we could do Nothing about this.  

 "Zoobie" Fly_Swatted TOO.  The Lakers app and NBA.com have him listed with 3 blocks.  He blocked Buddy Hield at least THAT and ending with five or six.  The number of Zublocks is not important.  (I will pay better attention today and I hope the NBA statisticians do as well).

All Eyes were on Zubac (40) as he stole the show Friday Night in Vegas. Zoob was blocking shots and dropping turn-arounds with ease.  Freethrows too.  Looks like a defensive anchor.

In addition of shutting down about everything New Orleans Top Pick (Hield) threw at the rim he altered so many more shots that his presence was glaringly noticeable when Ivica (Eee-Veetz-A) left the floor in the first half.  The energy and mood of the crowd changed and so did the defensive intensity.

D'Angelo looked pretty good.  Especially in the first half.  Not Kris Dunn good but good.  Kris Dunn was phenomenal good.  If you were to redraft right now he is the number one.  Zubac (Zoo-Botz) might be two.  Yes, of the Lakers Draft Picks not only did Zubac steal the Lake Show but he had the better overall performance. 

D'Angelo looked pretty good, especially in the first half when he had 15 points.  

Is it strange that Jim Buss has association with being number 2?  Shit, in Russian, is der'mo.  That JB might be hollering "der'mo mutha fu..." Ghaaadzooks, there is Jimmy Buss on the jumbo in the middle of the arena.  

Did someone say, "Jumbo, in the middle, of THE ARENA!?"  Yes, Jumbo, I mean Jimbo was there.  He was seated, center-court, across from the Lakers Bench.  And when his visage hit the BIG SCREEN inside the T & M arena, there was NO Mistaking the extremely loud "BOOOOOOS!" that came as quick as Lady Luck can swipe a doller from you in Vegas.  They were LOUD.  One gentleman yelled out, 

"WE WANT JEA-NIE..." (again)

Ouch.

They Showed Jim Buss again, on the big screen, and the BOOOS again ensued.  He looked up and sarcastically waived his arms in cheer.  Snarky.

That was the move.  What else can a person do?  I, like many, have an opinion about Jim Buss.  And, right about now that opinion is not of the highest regard.  (Please step aside JB)

That being said, The Lakers might well be on their way to a finals matchup here in Vegas.  At the very least they have one of the best and brightest young squads out here in the Desert.  Where sandy-sirens call upon ye to lay your money down.  Or money down for a lay? Today? Parlez-vous and roll-the-die and maybe you do.  Die, that is.  No risk, no reward.

The Lakers had very little risk on drafting Ivica Zubac with their second-round draft pick (no.32) and the fans are already seeing that Mr. Zubac is another second-round gold.  The Lakers inked him to a three-year deal BEFORE NBA Summer League began in LA EAST (It is during the NBA Summer League).  

If Jim Buss is to take the blame and ire of damn near everybody in Laker Land then who is to receive the accolades for being a part of drafting all of this incredible talent that is once again shining brighter than the intense desert sun mid-July in Vegas.

Lakers Brandon Ingram (14) had a nice game, but it was Zubac that was front-and-Center as the Lakers starting Big (Lakers Summer) dominated the paint vs the Pels

Some Jibber-Jabber and one man's opinion on some Lakers Ninos:

Zubac is skilled.  He is a turn-around shot from both sides of the floor (short 17/ FT area and baseline as well), excellent shooter's touch (he dropped a turn around baseline for a swoosh from 13 feet that was denied to a foul off the ball).  Honestly?  I don't like necessarily making the player analogies like "we" have heard of Ingram, for example, being compared to Kevin Durant.  

Kevin Durant was dominant at Texas.  Brandon Ingram (Duke), no offense, was not .  He had some nice moments.  He also had some bad moments.  Kennard and Grayson lead that Duke Team in more ways than Ingram did many times.  Ingram has skill, but his ball-handling needs major improvement.  By that, I mean that sometimes he will do things like throw an ill-advised or lazy pass.  He did that in game one.  What he also did was make moves to the basket that end up in-defensible due to his length and skill around the rim.  Ingram also had some really nice moments defensively, especially when he and Botz were on the floor together.  That is how they started: D'Angelo, Anthony Brown (had a solid game; looks like he has worked on upper body strength/ shoulders), Ingram, Nance Jr. and Zubac.  Crazy.  This squad was covering ground, applying pressure all over the floor, double-covering at the rim and on the perimeter, and making life difficult for pick 6 to "get his."  Buddy did find some buckets but made some poor decisions by forcing things at the rim.  

Zubac destroyed his attempts.  Literally destroyed one of the best guard's in the nation's drive-to-the-basket moves on several occasions.  His prowess allowed for guys like Ingram and Nance to help swat on D and they did to.  These guys ALL got fat on D.  That would be my biggest take-away from game one.  

As MUCH as watching Ivica Zubac meet and exceed expectations with flying coloring I would say that the LAkers Defense is looking damn impressive.  They are sending two guys at you all over the floor.  They have the youth, speed, athleticism, versatility and depth at position and they cover some serious ground.

In fairness, this Lakers Summer Squad is top notch.  I want to temper a bit until their are some challenges.  Whether that be facing another top tier squad or facing some shooting woes on the floor; I want to see them tested a bit more and see how they respond.

Immediate reaction:

Epic

These guys are swarming, like eagles, in the desert and on both sides of the ball y'all

as Lakers Summers kicks off

Jordan Clarkson all smiles after a fresh new deal.  Lou Williams may have also been in the house along with Tracey Murray, Mitch (of course) and Head Coach Luke Walton.  We also heard plenty of "Luuuuuuke" yelled out when he was on the JumboTron.  Assistant Coach Brian Shaw also looked on as



Everyone is pretty happy this way LA, today, as the Lakers Youth Movement dominates New Orleans.  These eagles soar above the Pelicans to a nice balanced, team win in Game One.

LAKERS

TEAM

Everyone seemed dialed in and on-point