Los Angeles Lakers must start Kyle Kuzma over Brandon Ingram

Kyle Kuzma has outplayed Brandon Ingram and earned the right to start for the Los Angeles Lakers. Whether or not he’s given that opportunity is a different story.

It truly is as simple as that — the Los Angeles Lakers must start Kyle Kuzma over Brandon Ingram. Based on what we’ve seen over the last few months, there’s no way you can say with absolute certainty that Ingram deserves to start more than the rookie.

Let’s look at Kuzma’s resume, just from the preseason so far. In five outings, he’s averaged 19.2 points, four rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting a whopping 56.2 percent from the field. Although his 3-point shooting hasn’t been spectacular, he can get hot at times. Against the Denver Nuggets, he made 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Now what about Ingram? In four preseason appearances, he’s averaged 9.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 30.9 percent from the field. The long range shooting is even worse — he’s made 1-of-9 from downtown.

Great. That’s a small sample size. Kuzma played a couple more minutes per game. Ingram has more NBA experience. Kuzma has been playing against subpar competition. Whatever excuse you might come up with, it really doesn’t matter.

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What I’m going off of here is what I see during the game. And when Kuzma is on the court, this Lakers lineup is firing on all cylinders. He doesn’t demand the ball, but works to get good looks and makes the most of them (see above shooting percentage). It’s his hustle, smarts and instincts that always seem to put him in position to get the best of his defender.

Check out this game footage against the Sacramento Kings if you’re not convinced:

https://twitter.com/FadeawayWorld/status/917491326266105857

As for Ingram, he appears to think he needs to score every time he touches the ball.

His mindset that he must be the playmaker rarely leads to good things. He’s not quite good enough handling the ball to consistently create on his own, and he clearly doesn’t yet have the dependable jumper needed to succeed in that role. I mean, come on, he’s not Kobe Bryant.

Here’s a good example of what I’m talking about with Ingram:

Not only does he force a terrible shot against arguably the NBA’s best rim protector, but he squanders one of the Lakers’ final opportunities to make a comeback against the Utah Jazz.

The only thing Ingram playing that way has consistently produced is turnovers. In fact, he’s given the ball away 12 times in those four preseason games. Compare that to Kuzma’s five turnovers in five preseason games.

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Maybe we fall back on the idea that Kuzma can be the sparkplug off the bench. It’s a solid plan, at least in theory. However, if that’s the case, he’s almost forced into the mindset that Ingram appears stuck in. As a starter, Kuzma can thrive off of that surprising chemistry that’s already developed between him and Lonzo Ball. We saw it during NBA Summer League, and are sure to see plenty more of it in the coming months.

Don’t take this the wrong way — I like Ingram. I don’t think the Lakers made a bad decision by drafting him, and I don’t think Magic Johnson is wrong to have put so much stock in his future. At this point, though, I don’t believe he’s the team’s best option at small forward. The sophomore is only 20, and clearly still has plenty of learning/developing to do.

Kuzma, on the other hand, has had time to marinate. He played all four years at Utah, and has undergone more maturation at 22 years of age. It shows in his game, from his uncanny understanding of how to break down a defender to his unrelenting tenacity on the break.

Would it be a shot to Magic’s ego after he went all-in on Ingram this offseason? Maybe. At the same time, I think he’s smart enough to know when the horse he’s betting on needs more training before the big race.

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I thought it was all hype after Summer League. However, after five straight impressive performances during the preseason, I’m convinced that Kuzma is the real deal. He belongs in the starting lineup until he proves otherwise.

All stats courtesy of ESPN.com.