Brandon Ingram is already in his second year in the NBA and has had a very disappointing outing so far. Last year, Ingram also started to slow to start his rookie year but turn it up after the All-Star weekend and finished his season strong enough to be an All-Rookie Second Team.
This year, he has gain some weight but still has a long way to go. He also reportedly worked on improving his shot including arc and release. Magic Johnson has taken notice of this and assured his player that he is "untouchable" so as to ward off trade offers from other teams. At the start of the NBA Summer League, he had a solid game but the risk of an injury forced him to sit down at the orders of Magic Johnson. He had 26 points, 3 steals, and 3 assists on that game, proving he may be just too talented to be in a Summer League game.
During preseason, he was very poor offensively.
4. Composure
This year, he has gain some weight but still has a long way to go. He also reportedly worked on improving his shot including arc and release. Magic Johnson has taken notice of this and assured his player that he is "untouchable" so as to ward off trade offers from other teams. At the start of the NBA Summer League, he had a solid game but the risk of an injury forced him to sit down at the orders of Magic Johnson. He had 26 points, 3 steals, and 3 assists on that game, proving he may be just too talented to be in a Summer League game.
During preseason, he was very poor offensively.
| OPP | SCORE | MIN | FGM-FGA | FG% | 3PM-3PA | 3P% | REB | AST | BLK | STL | TO | PTS | ||||
| W 111-104 | 21 | 6-10 | .600 | 2-3 | .667 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | |||||
| L 99-105 | 31 | 5-12 | .417 | 0-1 | .000 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 13 | |||||
| W 75-69 | 29 | 1-6 | .167 | 0-2 | .000 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | |||||
| L 107-113 | 21 | 3-9 | .333 | 0-1 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | |||||
| L 99-108 | 22 | 4-15 | .267 | 1-5 | .200 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
This is by no means a sign that he is a bust and here are my reasons to believe it is so:
1. Weight and Strength
Before he can be able to dominate offensively, he needs to gain weight and strength. Everytime he drives, he bounces off defenders, putting him off balance and affecting his shot. At Duke, he was the primary scorer and posting up was one of the plays for him. He was able to back down smaller defenders at the college level but not in the NBA where players with long wingspans and strong bodies are able to defend him better.
When he gets to a body fit for him like what Kevin Durant did, he'll be a matchup nightmare.
2. Needs to placed in position to succeed
I believe Luke has not done a great job at playing to his players' strengths. He looks to me like what Mike D'Antoni, who is the 2017 Coach of the Year for his phenomenal job with the Houston Rockets, did during his stint with the Lakers. Luke Walton has opted to emphasize the style of play he has envisioned that is inspired from the Golden State Warriors.
He has played Luol Deng, Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr. and several guys on this roster. He has also put Ingram on the wrong places on offense. I believe Brandon Ingram's true gifts on offense would be being a cutter, playmaker and spot-up shooter. Brandon Ingram at many moments in the game has been forced to go ISO when the plays he has set-up fails. Ingram either slashes to the rim and get fouled or takes a silly jump shot.
3. Shooting form needs adjustment
He reportedly worked on his shooting form this season by trying to remove the 'catapult' motion that causes his shots to be flat. He hasn't applied it in games.
4. Composure
He tries to do so much as to meet the expectations of everyone. Magic has placed a goal for Ingram to be the main scorer of this team. Ingram was tasked by Magic to at least average 20 points per game. Fairly, Ingram has been confident to take up Magic's assignment. In the games, it is clear that he trying to force things to happen offensively. Forcing jumpshots, slashing to the rim and going ISO. The defense has already scouted him up and exposed his tendency to go right when slashing. Defenders expect this and block his motion to force a turnover, offensive foul or a poor shot selection.
5. Kevin Durant comparisons
The Kevin Durant comparisons has affected him even though he denies it. It is clear that he is trying to incorporate Durant's style of play into his. Forcing Durantula-esque quick jump shots and ISO ball are one of the suspects. Kevin Durant is one of the best, if not the best, offensive player of all time. You can expect him to score 80 points a night if he wanted to. You just can't stop Kevin Durant. Brandon Ingram is far from that. Brandon is more of a Giannis Antetokounmpo type of player, which Durant has transformed into in Golden State. Ingram needs to maximize his strengths rather than emulating a player who has already been scouted during his college days as one of the top offensive players to ever come out of college.
Conclusions:
I want to give Ingram until January to figure things out. He has an enormous potential to be an All-Star player next year. With Lonzo Ball, he is expected to be more explosive and be able to get the ball where he can play best. Lonzo has already proven he can place his teammates in the best position to make plays. I expect nothing less from a Lonzo Ball - Brandon Ingram combo.
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