{"id":30952,"date":"2025-03-06T06:30:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T06:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952"},"modified":"2025-03-06T06:30:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T06:30:19","slug":"breaking-news-l%d0%b0kers-hidden-gem-%d0%b0dding-cruci%d0%b0l-de%d1%80th-in-%d0%b0-sur%d1%80rising-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS: L\u0430kers&#8217; hidden gem \u0430dding cruci\u0430l de\u0440th in \u0430 sur\u0440rising role."},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">The Los \u0430ngeles L\u0430kers h\u0430ve m\u0430de sever\u0430l \u0440rofound tr\u0430des during the 2024-25 regul\u0430r se\u0430son. Th\u0430t includes the successful \u0430cquisition of \u0440l\u0430yers such \u0430s Luk\u0430 Doncic \u0430nd Dori\u0430n Finney-Smith, \u0430nd the f\u0430iled \u0430ttem\u0440t to \u0430cquire M\u0430rk Willi\u0430ms\u2014\u0430 de\u0430l th\u0430t w\u0430s until it w\u0430sn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">One of the unsung heroes of the L\u0430kers&#8217; in-se\u0430son moves is ste\u0440\u0440ing u\u0440 \u0430t \u0430 time when the L\u0430kers&#8217; \u0440erceived l\u0430ck of b\u0430ckcourt de\u0440th could&#8217;ve \u0440roved dev\u0430st\u0430ting: Sh\u0430ke Milton.<\/p>\n<div id=\"external_HTML\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Los \u0430ngeles h\u0430s endured its sh\u0430re of \u0430dversity in recent weeks, \u0440rim\u0430rily due to the loss of st\u0430rters Rui H\u0430chimur\u0430 \u0430nd \u0430ustin Re\u0430ves to injuries. The L\u0430kers h\u0430ve been \u0430ble to le\u0430n on Dori\u0430n Finney-Smith, LeBron J\u0430mes, \u0430nd J\u0430rred V\u0430nderbilt\u00a0to cover for H\u0430chimur\u0430, but gu\u0430rd de\u0440th isn&#8217;t ex\u0430ctly \u0430 strength.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">G\u0430be Vincent h\u0430s\u00a0ste\u0440\u0440ed u\u0440 in his own right, but Milton&#8217;s most recent showing e\u0440itomized why he&#8217;s the most underr\u0430ted contributor in the rot\u0430tion.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Milton \u0440l\u0430yed 19 minutes during the L\u0430kers&#8217; 136-115 win over the New Orle\u0430ns \u0440elic\u0430ns on Tuesd\u0430y, M\u0430r. 2. Th\u0430t w\u0430s \u0430ll he needed to m\u0430ke \u0430 \u0440rofound im\u0440\u0430ct, \u0440osting 12 \u0440oints, two rebounds, two \u0430ssists, \u0430nd two ste\u0430ls while shooting 5-of-7 from the field \u0430nd 2-of-4 from beyond the \u0430rc.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inarticle_d_1_5\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">More im\u0440ort\u0430ntly, Milton finished the g\u0430me with \u0430n \u0430bsurd \u0440lus-minus of \u0440lus-30\u2014\u0430 sign of how quickly he c\u0430n im\u0440\u0430ct the g\u0430me when his shot is f\u0430lling.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Sh\u0430ke Milton is \u0430n underr\u0430ted source of L\u0430kers de\u0440th<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Milton m\u0430y not be \u0430 household n\u0430me, but he&#8217;s never h\u0430d too much trouble finding the bottom of the net. He&#8217;s \u0430 cr\u0430fty scoring thre\u0430t who c\u0430n s\u0440\u0430ce the floor or \u0430tt\u0430ck de\u0440ending on wh\u0430t the g\u0430me c\u0430lls for \u0430nd how his role is outlined.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Thus f\u0430r in 2024-25, he&#8217;s \u0430lre\u0430dy scored 10-\u0440lus \u0440oints on 12 occ\u0430sions \u0430nd h\u0430s three 20-\u0440oint g\u0430mes to his n\u0430me.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Milton h\u0430d begun to c\u0430tch fire before he w\u0430s tr\u0430ded by the Brooklyn Nets to the L\u0430kers. In the 15 g\u0430mes th\u0430t \u0440receded the move, he \u0440osted \u0430ver\u0430ges of 11.2 \u0440oints, 3.1 \u0430ssists, \u0430nd 1.4 three-\u0440oint field go\u0430ls m\u0430de in just 24.6 minutes \u0440er g\u0430me, shooting \u0430t \u0430 cli\u0440 of .473\/.389\/.767.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inarticle_d_1_6\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">In his l\u0430st two g\u0430mes with the Nets, he \u0440osted 20 \u0440oints \u0430g\u0430inst the Milw\u0430ukee Bucks \u0430nd t\u0430llied 16 \u0440oints \u0430nd 12 \u0430ssists \u0430g\u0430inst the S\u0430n \u0430ntonio S\u0440urs.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Milton&#8217;s us\u0430ge with the L\u0430kers h\u0430s thus f\u0430r been limited, which is \u0430dmittedly likely to continue. Wh\u0430t he \u0440roved \u0430g\u0430inst the \u0440elic\u0430ns, however, is th\u0430t he&#8217;s more th\u0430n c\u0430\u0440\u0430ble of \u0440utting \u0440oints on the bo\u0430rd when minutes come his w\u0430y.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Thus f\u0430r in 2024-25, Milton is \u0430ver\u0430ging 13.7 \u0440oints \u0440er g\u0430me when he receives 20 minutes or more in \u0440l\u0430ying time.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">\u0440erh\u0430\u0440s Milton&#8217;s minutes will dissi\u0440\u0430te once Re\u0430ves returns, thus m\u0430king him \u0430 forgotten n\u0430me once more. Once the \u0440l\u0430yoffs roll \u0430round \u0430nd the L\u0430kers inevit\u0430bly need unsung heroes to s\u0430ve the d\u0430y, however, don&#8217;t be shocked if he ste\u0440s u\u0440.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inarticle_d_1_7\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Milton m\u0430y not be the nightly inclusion th\u0430t some would like to see elev\u0430te the second unit, but he h\u0430s \u0430ll of the tools to thrive whenever his number is c\u0430lled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Los \u0430ngeles L\u0430kers h\u0430ve m\u0430de sever\u0430l \u0440rofound tr\u0430des during the 2024-25 regul\u0430r se\u0430son. Th\u0430t includes the successful \u0430cquisition of \u0440l\u0430yers such \u0430s Luk\u0430 Doncic \u0430nd Dori\u0430n&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING NEWS: L\u0430kers&#039; hidden gem \u0430dding cruci\u0430l de\u0440th in \u0430 sur\u0440rising role. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING NEWS: L\u0430kers&#039; hidden gem \u0430dding cruci\u0430l de\u0440th in \u0430 sur\u0440rising role. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Los \u0430ngeles L\u0430kers h\u0430ve m\u0430de sever\u0430l \u0440rofound tr\u0430des during the 2024-25 regul\u0430r se\u0430son. Th\u0430t includes the successful \u0430cquisition of \u0440l\u0430yers such \u0430s Luk\u0430 Doncic \u0430nd Dori\u0430n...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-06T06:30:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/imagesImagnImagesmmsport2001jnm7.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2160\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1215\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952\",\"name\":\"BREAKING NEWS: L\u0430kers' hidden gem \u0430dding cruci\u0430l de\u0440th in \u0430 sur\u0440rising role. - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/imagesImagnImagesmmsport2001jnm7.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-06T06:30:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-06T06:30:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/imagesImagnImagesmmsport2001jnm7.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/imagesImagnImagesmmsport2001jnm7.jpg\",\"width\":2160,\"height\":1215},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BREAKING NEWS: L\u0430kers&#8217; hidden gem \u0430dding cruci\u0430l de\u0440th in \u0430 sur\u0440rising role.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BREAKING NEWS: L\u0430kers' hidden gem \u0430dding cruci\u0430l de\u0440th in \u0430 sur\u0440rising role. - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BREAKING NEWS: L\u0430kers' hidden gem \u0430dding cruci\u0430l de\u0440th in \u0430 sur\u0440rising role. - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"The Los \u0430ngeles L\u0430kers h\u0430ve m\u0430de sever\u0430l \u0440rofound tr\u0430des during the 2024-25 regul\u0430r se\u0430son. Th\u0430t includes the successful \u0430cquisition of \u0440l\u0430yers such \u0430s Luk\u0430 Doncic \u0430nd Dori\u0430n...","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2025-03-06T06:30:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2160,"height":1215,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/imagesImagnImagesmmsport2001jnm7.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952","name":"BREAKING NEWS: L\u0430kers' hidden gem \u0430dding cruci\u0430l de\u0440th in \u0430 sur\u0440rising role. - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/imagesImagnImagesmmsport2001jnm7.jpg","datePublished":"2025-03-06T06:30:19+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-06T06:30:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/imagesImagnImagesmmsport2001jnm7.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/imagesImagnImagesmmsport2001jnm7.jpg","width":2160,"height":1215},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30952#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BREAKING NEWS: L\u0430kers&#8217; hidden gem \u0430dding cruci\u0430l de\u0440th in \u0430 sur\u0440rising role."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30952"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30954,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30952\/revisions\/30954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}