The Los Angeles Lakers finished what they started in Las Vegas. A 105-82 win over the Bulls on Thursday closed group play at 4-0 — the only unbeaten record in the field — and locked up the top overall seed for Saturday’s Summer League semifinals, where they will meet the Warriors.
The formula against Chicago was the same one that carried the first three wins: balance. Six Lakers scored in double figures, led by Chris Mañon with 16 points, while first-round pick Cameron Carr added 14 and posted a game-best plus-22. Carr entered the night averaging 20.5 points per game on 48.4 percent shooting in Vegas, and Adou Thiero has chipped in around 16 a night — production the No. 24 pick and the second-year forward have delivered without leaning on gimmick usage. The 23-point margin was the Lakers’ largest of the week.
It matters more than a normal July would. This is the franchise’s first summer since LeBron James told the team he is moving on, and the offseason plan — the Austin Reaves max extension, the Walker Kessler trade, the continued pursuit of Jonathan Kuminga — rests on young players becoming rotation contributors quickly rather than someday. A summer squad that defends, moves the ball and wins every night is not proof of anything, but it is the version of this week the front office needed to see.
Saturday’s semifinal against the Golden State Warriors — who claimed the last berth on point differential at 3-1 — comes with a Sunday championship game against Memphis or Houston waiting for the winner.
On the fantasy side, Carr is the piece to track: a 20-point summer scoring clip on efficient shooting from a first-rounder joining a roster with open wing minutes makes him a legitimate late-round redraft flier and a clear dynasty add. Thiero and Mañon are deep-league names only for now, but both are worth a watch-list spot if preseason usage confirms the roles they carved out in Vegas.
