SAN DIEGO — It took eleven years for Marcelo Huertas to excel on the hardwood in Spain before it became good enough for an NBA team to offer him a contract. It took two weeks before Huertas healed enough from a strained right hamstring. It took only one NBA game for Huertas to leave a positive impression.
In the Lakers’ 85-70 victory against Golden State on Saturday that ended with 2:16 left in the third quarter featured Huertas posting four points and six assists in 12 minutes off the bench. As a 32-year-old Brazilian point guard, Huertas made up for lost time by accelerating his familiarity with teammates and improving his chances with staying on the roster on a non-guaranteed contract.