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<\/a><\/p>\nAs he crowds the incoming rookie, a poke at the ball frees it. Like a shark in water, he smells blood. Another swipe and it\u2019s a foot race to the ball.<\/p>\n
\u200bOff-ball, he mixes the length with impeccable timing and instincts. He blew up switches and coverages by jumping the ball handler and took away transition opportunities or lobs with quick jumps to time the hit ahead passes.<\/p>\n
Ma\u00f1on can lull offensive players to sleep before a cat-like pounce. Watch below as he sits in a semi-ball denial, reads that the two offensive players aren\u2019t on the same page, and picks the dribble handoff for a bucket on the other end.<\/p>\n
His seven steals in Vegas were second on the team behind fellow defensive standout<\/a> Adou Thiero, who had ten.<\/p>\n An area where he\u2019s unique defensively as a guard is the block rate. He has a good feel for when to leave his man and time a rejection before the offensive player notices he\u2019s come over.<\/p>\n Watch below as he makes his way from the top of the key and springs up with two hands. He engulfs the offensive player and cleanly takes the basketball while still keeping it in play, netting one of his three blocks in the contest.<\/p>\n A prerequisite with any defensive-first role player, Ma\u00f1on has a fantastic motor. It shows itself in transition defense, rarely giving up on a play. It led to a few highlight blocks, like the impressive one shown below on a dunk attempt.<\/p>\n The questions on a pathway to minutes remain on the offensive end. Summer League provided few answers in that regard. In eight Summer League games spanning the California Classic and Vegas, Ma\u00f1on attempted just 13 3-pointers.<\/p>\n \u200bSome of it was a lack of playmaking on the roster, while others were turning down open shots to drive. He hit a respectable 38% on them, but the volume will need a real increase to be a viable rotation player for the purple and gold.<\/p>\n Ma\u00f1on even flashed some on-ball skills and feel as a cutter, converting 58% of his two-point and even showing off a pull-up mid-range jump shot. The team\u2019s reliance on his playmaking tied him for second in total assists in Vegas.<\/p>\n \u200bWhile the offense clearly needs refinement, having a potentially elite defender at the end of the bench creates opportunities for minutes on a team that is overly indexed for shot creation and scoring.<\/p>\n \u200bMa\u00f1on was asked at Summer League<\/a> what players he compares his game to.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of different guys,\u201d Manon said. \u201cAlex Caruso, Jrue Holiday. All these different guys that are pests on the ball and off the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n \u200bThe Lakers re-signed Manon to a two-way contract<\/a> over the summer. The team and Ma\u00f1on hope those comparisons hold up and he\u2019s able to earn a standard contract by the end of the season.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n