Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton decided to shake up some things in his starting lineup on Sunday when his team took on the Philadelphia 76ers. Walton gave a shot to some talented players, and of those players, just so happened to be center Ivica Zubac. The 19-year-old Croatian achieved his second career NBA start -- the previous one came against the Atlanta Hawks earlier in the season.
Zubac had a good performance against the 76ers, finishing the game in double figures -- 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the field and knocking down 2 of 3 free-throws.
He also had six rebounds and blocked four shots in the game in 19 minutes of action. It was a good night for the Croatian, who didn't screw up the given chance.
Zubac loves to protect the rim
Ivica Zubac had four blocks against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. Achieving four blocks in a game is not a bad stat, but the center wanted to finish the clash with more than four of those. The rookie seems to love to play defense, and coaches love those types of players.
''I was trying to block shots,'' Zubac told reporters after the match, in an interview which can be found on the Lakers Nation YouTube channel. ''I wish I can jump more so I can have 10 blocks a game. But, it was harder after (the) first quarter.
Obviously they made some adjustments so I couldn't get anymore blocks.''
You think of competing once you hit the floor
The coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Luke Walton, opted to use a very young starting lineup against the Philadelphia 76ers. It featured the likes of D'Angelo Russell, David Nwaba, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle and Ivica Zubac.
The lineup's average age was 21 years. However, it didn't affect the team, claims Zubac.
''No, when you are out there -- you forgot about everybody's age, about your age, and you play against who is out there on the floor,'' Zubac said when asked if the lineups average age makes it difficult. ''So, that's not (an) excuse, or something...you got to play as hard as you can, no matter how old you are -- good things are gonna happen.''
