Svi caps first pro preseason with big night

By Matt Tait     Oct 13, 2018

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Los Angeles Lakers' guard Svi Mykhailiuk (10) drives the ball between Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, left, and Jordan Bell (2) during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

If Friday’s preseason finale was the last chance for Los Angeles Lakers rookie Svi Mykhailiuk to show his new team that he deserves a little PT, the former Kansas standout sure picked a heck of a way to go out.

In a whopping 32 (of 48) minutes during the Lakers’ 119-105 victory over Golden State in the final tune-up for both teams, Mykhailiuk finished with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting.

What made the Ukrainian sharp-shooter’s performance memorable was that just six of the 22 points came from behind the 3-point line, a location where most believe Svi will make his mark during his first NBA season, however big or small that may be.

Mykhailiuk hit 2 of 5 from downtown and dropped in six field goals from inside the arc and also hit all four free throws he attempted.

Add to that the fact that Svi added four assists to just one turnover during those 32 minutes and it’s easy to make a case that the rookie is ready for some meaningful minutes when Lakers open the regular season on Thursday at Portland.

Whether Los Angeles coach Luke Walton and new Laker LeBron James believe the same thing remains to be seen, but James has been plenty complimentary of Mykhailiuk throughout the preseason and is not known as one of those superstars who plays favorites. James’ bottom line is simple: If a guy can play and can help the team win, put him out there and James will find a way to help him produce.

It’s important to remember that Svi’s big night — by far his best of the preseason — came in a ho-hum finale and an otherwise meaningless exhibition game. To think that what Svi did on Friday automatically will carry over to the regular season would be a major stretch.

Mykhailiuk played in all six Laker preseason games and averaged 6.7 points in 14.8 minutes per game. He shot 36.8 percent from the floor, including a 4-of-17 clip (23.5 percent) from 3-point range.

It could be a while before Svi’s minutes played combine to even total 32 minutes. Remember, those monster games during NBA summer league before camp opened and the preseason even began came against a bunch of guys who aren’t even on a roster today. They certainly didn’t do anything to hurt his confidence, but it’s not as if they were an early indication that Svi is on his way to becoming the next Klay Thompson.

But all the former Jayhawk can do is show that he’s ready for the moment and Walton, James and the rest of the Lakers, at the very least, have to believe he’s up for that challenge should the need to use him arise.

Time will tell if that happens. But given Svi’s maturity and generally unflappable demeanor — not to mention his confidence — it’s not hard to imagine him contributing to the new-look Lakers in a positive way at some point this season.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.