Players Grades: Lakers vs. Wolves

Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 124-107 loss to the Timberwolves in the preseason opener.

The long, long wait ended on Friday when the Lakers took the court against the Wolves in their preseason opener in Palm Springs. It was certainly a far cry from the best the Lakers could put on the floor with both LeBron James and Anthony Davis sitting out.

Still, that left plenty of minutes for a host of other Lakers, leading to some standout showings even in a game the team lost and trailed for effectively the whole game. With only Jaxson Hayes among the rotational centers available, a lot of very small lineups were on the floor.

With lots of grades to give out, let’s dive into the loss right away. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. “A” grade represents the average performance for that player.

Also, it’s the preseason. Let’s not take these too seriously.

Rui Hachimura

22 minutes, 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 3-7 FG, 1-3 3PT, 2-2 FT, -12

It’s really hard to grade Rui because he spent multiple stretches of this game playing as a center around four guards. It’s one thing to step into LeBron’s role when he sits, it’s another to steps into AD’s.

There were some positive moments. He missed some open jumpers that you’d want back. He finished at the rim.

But I’m basically just giving him a full pass for this game and will grade him a bit more on Sunday.

Grade: B

Jaxson Hayes

21 minutes, 9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 3-4 FG, 3-3 FT, -8

Hayes didn’t really show anything different than he did last season, but that’s not a bad thing. He was energetic, active and flying around the court. I’m interested in seeing him with more rotational players but I came away from this game thinking he had a good showing.

Grade: B+

D’Angelo Russell

21 minutes, 14 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 6-11 FG, 2-5 3PT, -8

Similar to Rui and the yet-to-be-mentioned Austin Reaves, I’m kind of waiting to grade those in the starting lineup until they’re surrounded by LeBron and AD.

D’Lo looked fine overall. I liked that he got to the rim a bit. His banked-in 3-pointer made me audibly laugh, too. But we know he can do that. Let’s see how things look in this new system with the stars.

Grade: B

Austin Reaves

25 minutes, 16 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 2-9 FG, 2-5 3PT, 10-10 FT, +0

Going 10-10 at the line on a night when you couldn’t make a shot inside the arc is a true grifter game and I applaud Reaves for it.

Reaves seemed stuck between two minds on his drives tonight. When he would opt for a floater, it seemed like he couldn’t decided between shooting it off the glass or straight in and the result was multiple shots off the back of the rim.

What I’ll really be watching for this preseason is his defense. It took a notable step backwards at the start of last year but with him feeling more healthy, I want to see if he can return to form in that regard this year.

Grade: B

Max Christie

34 minutes, 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 5-9 FG, 1-5 3PT, +0

Are the Lakers going to struggle in the non-Max Christie minutes this season?

If I was giving out an MVP for game one, I think I’d give it to Christie. In short, he looked like the guy head coach JJ Redick and LeBron had praised over the summer and into training camp.

I did not expect him to show off his passing chops, but I did expect the rebounding and defense. Everything is really shaping up for this to be a big year for Max Christie.

Grade: A

Dalton Knecht

25 minutes, 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 7-13 FG, 2-7 3PT, -13

When I called Christie my MVP of this game, I’m sure some of you immediately yelled “What about Dalton Knecht!” And you know what? That’s a totally fair selection, too!

Knect is still probably on the outside looking in of the rotation when everyone is healthy. But the fact he entered the game and Redick immediately started running plays for him feels telling.

What he did in Summer League is going to translate to the NBA and, based off one preseason game, it’s a matter of when, not if, he breaks into the rotation.

Grade: A

Gabe Vincent

15 minutes, 11 points, 1 steal, 4-6 FG, 2-4 3PT, 1-1 FT, +1

You want a stat that is sad but true? Gabe Vincent’s two 3-pointers tonight means he’s now one shy this preseason from matching his total in 2023-24.

I would imagine this is something like what the Lakers expected in terms of impact from him last season. He came in, provided a scoring punch and tough defense. Ideally, that’s what he’ll be able to do in the actual games, too.

Grade: A-

Jalen Hood-Schifino

27 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3-9 FG, 0-1 3PT, -7

Without question, this is the best JHS has looked for the parent Lakers in his brief career. Even with his shot not falling, he was very impactful on both ends. He had a number of nice finds and made some nice plays defensively as well.

His road to the rotation is a bit steeper but, like Christie, he’s been trending in the right direction this summer.

Grade: B+

Bronny James

16 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 1-6 FG, 0-1 3PT, -12

Bronny got into the game probably earlier than most expected on Friday, but it was a welcome barometer test for him early on.

Defensively, all the potential is there. He can make an impact on that end right now and he did at times on Friday. Offensively, though, he is far away.

I would imagine a lot of his work in the G League this year will be about him finding ways to be productive offensively.

Grade: C

Colin Castleton

12 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2-4 FT, -1

I think the fact Castleton did not get any minutes in the first half and only played once garbage time came around is pretty telling of his standing on the team. He’s a fine G League player and can have a career as a two-way type of guy who bounces around between the G League and the back end of NBA benches, but he’s not really flashing anything else at this point.

Grade: C-

Maxwell Lewis

10 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block, -20

Even in a preseason game where things are weird, do you know how hard it is to finish with a plus-minus of -20 in 10 minutes? That’s entirely contextual and not on Lewis, but he is also nowhere close to producing.

It wouldn’t be a surprise at this point if he was offloaded in a salary dump trade. He just doesn’t seem anywhere close to being a productive NBA player.

Grade: D

Armel Traore, Kylor Kelley, Quincy Olivari

All three guys stepped onto the court late in the fourth quarter. Outside of a pretty hard flagrant foul from Kelley, there was nothing noteworthy from them.

JJ Redick

I’m absolutely not grading Redick on a preseason game, and especially one without LeBron and AD. I’m just including this bit so you know I didn’t forget about him.

I’m reserving judgement and further observation on him until we have a bigger sample size.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.