Los Angeles Lakers: 3 takeaways from LeBron James-less stretch of games
3. Lakers should play Ingram at the 4
The Brandon Ingram dilemma never seems to end. He undoubtedly has the talent and measurables to be a great player in the NBA, but his development was expected to accelerate to align with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers’ hopes of contending this season. This pressure comes with playing for the Lakers and next to LeBron, but he’s only 21 years old and flashes have been shown of excellence.
Ingram has been used in a number of different lineups, from main ball-handler to secondary scorer to spot-up shooter while playing with the starters and bench units. He does boast some playmaking skills, but isn’t the best player in terms of ball movement and shot selection.
Over the last 11 games, 59.1 percent of his shots came after three dribbles. He is only averaging 3.7 assists per game with shooting splits of .468/.278/.585 in that stretch. The free throw percentage is a team-wide epidemic, but Ingram thrives off getting to the rim and leaves free points on the floor by not knocking down his free throws.
Ingram has stagnated his game and hasn’t found consistency to perform at a high level night to night. A small change that could trigger some positive results is moving Ingram to the 4 for stretches. B.I. starts as a guard with LeBron healthy, next to Kyle Kuzma and a big. There’s no floor-spacing for him to operate and do what he does best, which is get to the rim.
Ingram closed the Jan. 15 win over the Chicago Bulls at the 4 with three shooters and a true big on the court with him. He scored eight points, connected on all three of his field goals, grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists in that fourth quarter. He had space to operate the pick-and-roll, with defenders forced to stay home on shooters. The game seemed simple for him as well.
Brandon Ingram’s strengths are attacking the basket and playing with the ball in his hands. Boxing him in at the 2 or 3 limits his ability to perform at his highest level. If you are standing by him as a part of your core, playing him at the 4 is where he’s best. Ingram has the length to defend 1-4 and is a solid rebounder. With LeBron out, Ingram operating in small-ball lineups is a strong option to increase scoring since they’ve struggled to score consistently.