![]() ![]() To make the leap to true stardom, Ingram will need to become a reliable shot-maker off the dribble and step up his defense. Potentially, this thing could be really cool, they’re good kids who don’t care who gets the limelight, and that’s fun to be a part of.” Individual defensive effort and accountability is not good. But we’re really young, and we have no idea what it takes to win, we’re not good at consistency. It’s a fascinating group of kids to look at and think about what we could potentially be. If you play him as a 3, he can be pretty good. “When we got Brandon from L.A., all of our analytics guys were like, ‘Defensively, he’s really good.’ But he’s struggled all year because he’s playing the 4, defending guys with size. “Our ability to win and be a great team is going to be predicated on our ability to get stops,” Griffin said. When I interviewed David Griffin, head of the Pelicans front office, in July for The Restart, he brought up on multiple occasions how offense isn’t the problem for New Orleans, it’s defense. But Ingram needs to step up on defense for the Pelicans to win at the highest level. Or maybe it was the offensive load wearing him down. It could be that he was defending more forwards than wings, which he’s best suited for as a leaner player. Maybe it’s the team culture-defense looks like a chore for the entire New Orleans roster. Something changed for Ingram to become a player who got routinely eaten alive. In fact, Ingram actually got much worse on defense with the Pelicans, often appearing less focused than he was the past two seasons with the Lakers. There were other players who made notably larger overall strides. The 4.2 assists he averaged in New Orleans was nothing new if anything, he can still be better. He’s also been a good passer ever since he was in high school. He developed significantly in those three seasons, particularly his ability to get to the rim and finish or draw fouls. Usually Lakers players get overrated or overhyped by the media, but Ingram was way underrated during his years in L.A. Aside from his impressive strides as a shooter, I found his overall progress to be overblown. But I didn’t vote for Ingram as Most Improved Player. ![]() Still, it was wonderful to see things come together for Ingram he’s long been one of my favorite players-he was my top-ranked prospect in 2016, ahead of Ben Simmons, and I argued that the Lakers should resist trading him unless it was totally necessary. It was a sample of only 43 shots, but it’s worth keeping an eye on. Ingram needs to sustain his improved shooting, but after early January his dribble-jumper collapsed he hit only 21 percent of his pull-up 3s, per NBA Advanced Stats. Ingram also excelled getting to the basket, hitting spot-up 3s (at an over-40-percent clip), making slick passes for his teammates, and showing good pick-and-roll chemistry with Zion Williamson. Ingram spent all of last summer revising his shooting mechanics, and that change unleashed his offense he averaged 24 points on 39 percent from 3 and 85 percent from the line. The 2019-20 season was a good one for Ingram, who was named an All-Star for the first time and was awarded Most Improved Player of the Year. Left L.A.: Traded to the Pelicans for Davis, 2019 First Team Brandon Ingram, Forward, Pelicans With only four teams still standing in the 2020 playoffs, let’s take a look around the league at the ex-Lakers All-Stars. There are so many former Lakers draft picks since 2013 that you could make a full team out of them. Some spent this season as difference-makers on playoff contenders, but most others toiled in mediocrity. Of the remaining 23 ex-Lakers, 11 are currently without a full NBA contract, and the 12 others are scattered around the league. ![]() Only Kyle Kuzma, drafted 27th in 2017, and Alex Caruso, signed as an undrafted free agent in 2017, are still on the team. It all seems worth it, as LeBron and AD have propelled the Lakers to a 2-0 lead on the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.īetween 2013-19, the Lakers had 25 rookies on their roster. And they did it all while undergoing significant changes in the front office. They’ve made tough decisions to balance the roster, cap-saving moves to set up the signing of LeBron James, and some no-brainer decisions like the big trade to acquire Anthony Davis. It’s been a wild ride for the Lakers to get back into the playoffs since their last appearance in 2013. ![]()
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