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Why Lakers’ Chris Mañon wants a ‘smarter’ approach to his standout skill
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- Why Lakers’ Chris Mañon wants a ‘smarter’ approach to his standout skill
Why Lakers' Chris Mañon wants a 'smarter' approach to his standout skill appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
LAS VEGAS – While the Los Angeles Lakers ' brass were certainly interested in the play of Adou Thiero and Cameron Carr during NBA Summer League, also of importance was the continued development of second-year guard Chris Mañon .
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After having a year of NBA experience under his belt, Chris Mañon was one of the Lakers' elder statesmen, so to speak, throughout the team's summer league run. With the Lakers signing undrafted free agents AK Okereke and Peter Suder to two-way contracts, Mañon is the only one on the roster that's on a two-way who has logged NBA minutes.
During his rookie season, Mañon was often praised by Lakers head coach JJ Redick for his defensive play. He got plenty of on-court reps with the team's South Bay G League affiliate, and he was named to the G League All-Defensive Team while finishing second in the league's Defensive Player of the Year voting.
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Defense was certainly something Mañon wanted to continue showing at NBA Summer League this year, but he wants to take more calculated approach as he heads into his second year with the Lakers.
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"I think overall I did a pretty good job. I think there's still some things I got to work on," Mañon said following the Lakers' final summer league game. "I think in games I got to be a little smarter with my fouls, maybe tone down my physicality. It's tough sometimes to do that but I'm still learning. The sky's the limit. So continue to get better."
Out of the Lakers' three two-way contract players last season, only Nick Smith Jr. and Drew Timme saw regular playing time with the big club. In Smith's case, he had his contract converted to a standard deal in time for the playoffs. Mañon, on the other hand, spent most of his rookie year getting reps with South Bay . He suited up in only NBA games, but did show his penchant for defense.
Lakers summer league head coach Ty Abbott, having been a part of the organization's development staff the past two years, tasked Mañon with taking on a bit of a larger role this summer. He had the ball in his hands quite a bit and was able to play as a primary offensive creator.
"I think the staff is very comfortable with me as well," Mañon said. "I think they know kind of how I play and who I am so I think in that regard they let me play pretty free. Which I'm grateful for."
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And it was met with mixed results. He shot 39.3 percent from the field, including 2-of-8 from 3-point range, in his first two games in Las Vegas. That was followed up by a 16-point explosion in his fourth game in which he shot 5-of-7 from the field and knocked down his only 3-point attempt.
He finished his summer league stint with a 10-point performance on 3-of-9 shooting and 0-of-1 from distance. But he did show an ability to draw contact and get himself to the free-throw line. Overall, he considered his summer stint a success on which he can build off of when training camp and the regular season rolls around.
"I think I had a pretty good summer. I think I was a little bit more comfortable than I was previously offensively," Mañon said. "I think I regressed a little in the last game, but that's life. Sometimes we have bad games. I think overall, I had a pretty decent summer."
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