Los Angeles Lakers: 3 takeaways from 2018-19 season opener

3. Brandon Ingram needs to run the second unit

The Los Angeles Lakers came into the season with expectations that Brandon Ingram would make a leap in his third season in the NBA. His numbers didn’t disappoint in this contest (16 points, four rebounds), but it seemed he wasn’t utilized to maximize his full potential as a ball-handler and build off last year’s success running the offense.

With the ball-dominant Rajon Rondo and LeBron James joining Ingram in the starting lineup, the opportunities for him to have the ball in his hands are limited with the first team. He was effective in spurts running off-ball flares and cuts to the middle of the lane for jumpers over smaller defenders or finishing through contact, but there are openings to stagger his minutes to increase his opportunities.

The Lakers’ bench unit deploys Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley (he played for only two minutes). While Lonzo and Hart are high-IQ players with strong passing abilities, nobody in this lineup consistently creates his own shot or gets to the rim at will.

This is the perfect spot for Ingram to be used. Allow him to get downhill and attack the basket with driving lanes while kicking to shooters along the perimeter, which happens to be what Lonzo, Hart and Kuzma do best in the half-court. Playing Ingram with these three also gives the Lakers some continuity in their rotation to start the season. WIth so many new faces, having four players that have serious playing time together will go a long way until we get deeper into the season.

Ingram and LeBron need to be the stars of this team for the Lakers to reach their lofty goals, but staggering their minutes and allowing Ingram to run his own lineup gives them a relentless attacker on the floor at all times.