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5 Things to Know: Summer League Lakers vs. Pelicans

Here is what you need to know before the Lakers tip off Summer League against the New Orleans Pelicans.

1)
Lakers fans will get their first look at second-overall pick Brandon Ingram, who has already drawn shimmering reviews from teammates and coaches. Despite still having to sign his contract with the team, Ingram will hit the floor in the Summer League opener. The 18-year-old will look to show off the skill set that earned him ACC Rookie of the Year honors at Duke after averaging 17.3 points and 6.8 rebounds, while shooting 41.0 percent from 3-point range.

2)
New Orleans also has a lottery pick making his debut, as Buddy Hield takes the floor after a decorated career at Oklahoma. The sixth-overall selection scored the second-most points in the NCAA last year (25.0), while knocking down the nation’s most 3-pointers (147). For his efforts, Hield — who worked out for the Lakers before the draft — was given numerous player of the year honors, including the Wooden Award.

Hield is joined on the Pelicans’ roster by several intriguing players, including No. 33 pick Cheick Diallo — who didn’t play much in his lone year at Kansas but was a five-star recruit out of high school — and Damien Inglis, who played 20 games for Milwaukee last season.

3)
Ingram’s fellow rookie, Ivica Zubac, is expected to play after signing his contract with the team on Thursday. The 7-foot-1, 265-pounder most recently played last month for Mega Leks of the Adriatic League, tallying 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in his final appearance.

4)
Despite having a loaded roster that included D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and the recently re-signed Jordan Clarkson, last year’s Summer League team underperformed and won just once in five games. The sophomores on the 2016 entry — Russell, Larry Nance Jr. and Anthony Brown — are seeking redemption, as they combined to shoot just 36-of-102 at their rookie tournament.

All three improved throughout their first regular season, especially Russell, who averaged 13.2 points on 40.1 percent shooting during his Second Team All-Rookie campaign after contributing 5.2 points on 37.7 percent at Summer League. Now, he has emerged as the Lakers’ leader in Las Vegas this time around.

5)
The Lakers’ roster features two intriguing guards who have parlayed D-League success into NBA opportunities. After averaging the league’s second-most points (24.4) for the Los Angeles D-Fenders, Jabari Brown finished the 2014-15 season with the Lakers and was the final man cut from their roster in last year’s training camp.

Meanwhile, Xavier Munford put up 20.4 points per game for the Bakersfield Jam before Memphis called him up. The D-League All-Star played 22.3 minutes a night as the Grizzlies’ second-string shooting guard during their brief, four-game postseason.

Rule Changes
Summer League is played under different rules than the regular season. These include:
- Quarters are 10 minutes long instead of 12.
- Halftime is eight minutes long.
- Teams are in the penalty on the 10th team foul or second in the final two minutes.
- Players foul out after their 10th personal foul in non-tournament games. The standard six-foul rule is applied during the tournament portion of Summer League.
- Each team receives two, 105-second timeouts per half, which do not carry over.
- Each team can advance the ball to the frontcourt once in the last two minutes of regulation and any overtime period.
- Overtime is two minutes long instead of five. Double overtime is sudden death during non-tournament games and two minutes during the tournament.