Los Angeles Lakers: Young Trio Ready To Lead
Despite the continued losing, the Los Angeles Lakers’ young trio has stepped up after the All-Star Break and are showing that they are ready to lead.
In some respects, the end of the Kobe Bryant farewell tour can’t come soon enough.
Sure, seeing the Black Mamba go on stretches in games where he looks like the scoring machine he once was is riveting. What may be more exciting to Los Angeles Lakers fans, however, is the realized potential their Big Three of the future has shown in recent weeks.
Since the All-Star Break, the young trio of Jordan Clarkson, D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle is averaging a combined 46.6 points per game on 47.1 percent shooting from the field.
Leading the way for the trio and the Lakers overall is Clarkson, who has raised his individual stats and efficiency across the board since the break. After a stellar showing at All-Star weekend in the Rising Stars Challenge, Clarkson seems to have had a resurgence in confidence, posting 18.2 points a game on a .451/.471/.786 shooting splits while also posting 4.6 boards, 3.6 dimes and 1.2 steals a game.
This run includes two back-to-back 20-point outings against great defensive teams in the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls and a phenomenal performance against the Memphis Grizzlies where he put up 28 points and nailed six three-pointers.
Not to be outdone, Clarkson’s backcourt partner D’Angelo Russell has had quite the February himself.
Since being inserted back into the starting lineup, Russell is averaging 15.2 points a night with 4.8 assists and 3.0 rebounds a game while shooting 49 percent from the field and an astounding 55.6 percent from three.
Russell looks much improved from his first starting stint, showing command of his game and a near deadly shooting stroke from the outside. He’s getting better at taking and making smart shots as he gets more comfortable with the flow of the NBA game.
It’s clearly paying dividends, as evidenced by his consecutive 22-point performances in back-to-back games against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Last but certainly not least, Julius Randle has been a stud in the post since the break, asserting himself as the Lakers’ most dominant post player.
The forward is averaging a monster double-double over the last five games, posting 13 points and 11.2 rebounds a night. During that time, he has posted three double-doubles, most notably a 22-point, 12-board game in which he led a comeback (albeit one that fell short) for the Lakers against the Chicago Bulls.
In addition to his traditional hustle and muscle style of play, Randle is showing an improved touch on his jump shot as well. He seems to finally be figuring out how to use his quickness to beat post defenders off the dribble and his strength to finish in the paint.
In the shadow of the Kobe Bryant retirement tour, these three promising young players are growing individually and collectively and showing that they’re ready to lead this team into the next generation.
Although the production is currently coming in losing efforts, it’s laying the framework for their chemistry and confidence going into seasons to come.
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If the trio can continue to make the strides they have thus far this season, it won’t be long before they’re ranked among the most dangerous young cores this league has to offer.