Brandon Ingram changed his shooting profile against the Cleveland Cavaliers. During previous games, his shot selection was poor as noted here. He took a high rate of contested shots due to his role on the team. Against the Cavaliers, he was one point shy of team honors in plus/minutes. Lonzo Ball led the way with +16, and Brandon Ingram was right there at +15.
Statistically, it looked like an average game from Brandon Ingram. He finished with 15 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds, but it was his decision-making that made all the difference.
Let’s take a look at some of the changes he made that led to his +15 effect on the team.
The First Half
Early on, he showed more patience on offense. This first play has led to a contested mid-range shot all season. Instead, he waited an extra second, and it led to a JaVale McGee dunk.
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In fact, in the 7 minutes he had with the starting lineup, the Lakers offensive rating was 121.4, with a defensive rating of 114.3. A lot of this had to do with the Lakers doing an excellent job of hitting the roll-man on offense. They weren’t able to get out in transition as much, as indicated by the 93.99 pace in the first quarter. Brandon Ingram was letting the game come to him.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t as effective with the bench lineup that include Lance Stephenson, Josh Hart, Tyson Chandler, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. This led to the four-point deficit to finish the first quarter, despite the hot start from LeBron James.
The More Effective Second Half
It took awhile, but by the third quarter, he started to shine. My twitter timeline reflected on some good decisions by Brandon Ingram down the stretch. It wasn’t perfect, but it cut into the Cavs lead.
Let’s look at some of those plays.
Here, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope rejects the screen in a pick-and-roll situation. The option pass leads to a wide open Brandon Ingram catch-and-shoot three-pointer.
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Brandon Ingram would usually opt to run pick-and-roll in this situation. Instead, he does a quick read of the defense and catches Jordan Clarkson out of position. This led to a Lance Stephenson And-1 situation.
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This time, Brandon Ingram runs the pick-and-roll, attacks baseline and finds Josh Hart. This eventually leads to an open KCP three-pointer.
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His shot selection changed as well. Previously, this would have been a post up, leading to a bad contested shot in motion across the paint, or a fadeaway jumper. Instead, he backs away from the post, faces up his defender, and takes the contested pull up jumpshot. While this took awhile to get to, this is still a much better shot, with better balance overall.
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Most importantly, he was effective with every lineup on the floor in the second half. He finished +9 in the 3rd quarter and +10 in the 4th quarter. The net ratings speak for themselves.
Summary
It may have been against a non-playoff team, but Brandon Ingram’s mindset and decision-making changed for the better. He opted for better shots. From the post, he took one shot against Collin Sexton, but the rest of his game included more shots that were on balance and playmaking for the rest of his team. He found ways to be effective on the floor and spur on a comeback when the Lakers needed it.
This is a small step in the right direction for Brandon Ingram. The Lakers don’t need him to be a dominant scorer. They already have one in LeBron James. They do need him to be a guy that can facilitate open looks and take advantage of mismatches when the time calls. As noted from Brandon Ingram: The Bad Shot Profile, he may need to unleash more aggression scoring with the bench lineup. The Lakers needed that against the Cavs and he came through. Hopefully, he can build on this solid game and continue to work on harmonizing his play between both the starting lineup and the bench lineup.
*Special thanks to @CaChookamanTV for the video work, nba.com/stats, and Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images*
