{"id":69651,"date":"2024-03-21T19:23:34","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T23:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=69651"},"modified":"2024-04-06T22:31:18","modified_gmt":"2024-04-07T02:31:18","slug":"lakers-jalen-hood-schifino-undergoes-surgery-ahead-nba-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/03\/21\/lakers-jalen-hood-schifino-undergoes-surgery-ahead-nba-playoffs\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Guard Gets Surprising Update Ahead of Playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a surprise announcement, The Athletic\u2019s Shams Charania reports that Los Angeles Lakers guard Jalen Hood-Schifino<\/a> completed a lumbar microdiscectomy surgery on Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jalen Hood-Schifino Undergoes Surgery Ahead of Playoffs<\/h2>\n

Hood-Schifino was not reported to have sustained a back injury prior to his procedure. However, Hood-Schifino missed six games in mid-December due to back spasms. The 17th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Hood-Schifino also suffered from back spasms while at Indiana<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hood-Schifino has spent much of his rookie season in the G League. He\u2019s played 15 games with the South Bay Lakers, L.A.\u2019s G League affiliate, averaging 35.4 minutes per contest. With South Bay, the 20-year-old has averaged 22.0 points, 5.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.4 stocks per game.<\/p>\n

His most striking numbers may be his percentages due to his early struggles at the NBA level. Hood-Schifino has shot 47.3 percent from the field with South Bay and 43.2 percent from 3 (5.4 attempts per game).<\/p>\n

At the NBA level, his numbers are much more modest due to the minute role he played. Over 21 games, he averages 5.2 minutes per game. However, his inability to find the bottom of the rim is a major factor in his limited playing time, as he hasn\u2019t capitalized on the opportunities he gets to make an impression on Darvin Ham, LeBron James, and the Lakers brass.<\/p>\n

In the three games where he\u2019s played at least 10 minutes, Hood-Schifino has averaged 13.5 minutes per game, a decent opportunity to make an impact. Yet, in those games, Hood-Schifino shot just 30.8 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from 3. He averaged 4.3 points and 1.0 assist per contest.<\/p>\n

Numbers aren\u2019t everything but they are something.<\/p>\n

Lakers Like Him<\/h3>\n

Hood-Schifino may have been behind the curve. A knee bruise he sustained against the Golden State Warriors in the preseason pushed his NBA debut out to Nov. 27. His initial stretch is where he played at least 10 minutes per game for the Lakers, albeit in blowouts. In his second career game, Hood-Schifino recorded 10 points on 3-4 shooting from the field (1-2 from 3).<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the Lakers appear fond of Hood-Schifino. During training camp, Ham discussed what he likes about the rookie\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe plays with a lot of moxie,\u201d Ham says, \u201che plays with stability. You can\u2019t speed him up, you can\u2019t slow him down. He\u2019s strong. He\u2019s a fierce competitor in a silent way. You\u2019re not just gonna do whatever you want to do with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Lakers coach Darvin Ham called Jalen Hood-Schifino the MVP of the team\u2019s first day of practice and detailed an interesting homework assignment he\u2019s given the rookie point guard: pic.twitter.com\/z5HySF2NwL<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 4, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n