With each game that passes, Timofey Mozgov and his outsized contract are becoming more and more obsolete. It seems somewhat unbelievable, but the 19-year-old Croatian rookie is somehow stealing Mozgov’s minutes. The guy who got paid to be the Lakers’ center of the future is, before our eyes, getting replaced by the guy who actually has a non-zero chance of being the center of the future.
Unlike the previous game, where Zubac had an unarguably mediocre statline, this game saw Zubac shoot efficiently from the field (6 of 11), swish his free throws (four for four), grab rebounds like prime Dennis Rodman on ‘roids (ten of them for the sweet sweet trippy-dubby), and not commit many turnovers or fouls (just one of the latter). Sort of like how Nikola Jokic’s accelerated development took everybody by surprise last year, maybe Zubac’s quick understanding of the NBA game will have us hyping him up as a potential All-Star by the end of the year.
I smell a new storyline where Mozgov attempts to sabotage Zubac’s emerging career in hilarious yet strangely poignant and realistic ways. Sneak preview: “Nobody liking Zubac. Not even Croatia people liking him because of his suck,” Timofey announced over the arena’s PA system as the jumbotron displayed obviously-photoshopped images of Ivica performing homosexual acts. “I find pictures on internet of Zubac which I now showing on screen.”