The Los Angeles Lakers finally salvaged a victory in the preseason, as they used a late rally to grind out a 75-69 win over the Sacramento Kings at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rookie point guard Lonzo Ball was out with an ankle injury, but the frontline tandem of Julius Randle and Kyle Kuzma took the spotlight for Luke Walton’s squad.
The game was everything but pretty, yet the Lakers showed they can win a game despite shooting 41 percent from the field and a cold 25 percent from the three-point line. Without Ball orchestrating their offense, the Lakers were sloppy throughout the contest as they committed 20 turnovers.
Thankfully for the Lakers, the Kings also had a rough shooting night (31.3 percent from the floor). Ball’s rival and fellow rookie point guard De’Aaron Fox didn’t play the second half with a bruised back. He finished the game with three points on 1-of-6 shooting with two dimes after dropping 16 and 12 in a back-to-back preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Where’s Ingram?
Brandon Ingram has been a missing factor for the Lakers in their preseason games and his 1-of-6 performance (5 points in 29 minutes) against the Kings doesn’t make any difference. NBA analysts have high expectations in Ingram entering his second NBA season, but so far the former No.2 overall pick has been a disappointment at least on the offensive end of the floor.
Although it’s too early to label Ingram a bust, the pace of his growth is sure far off from Kevin Durant’s development in his second season. After averaging 20 points in his rookie year, Durant took over the scoring load from the get-go and finished the 2008-09 season with a star-worthy stat-line of 25.3 ppg on 47 percent FG shooting and 42 percent from the three-point line.
Ingram may never reach Durant’s ceiling. Yet, there’s some urgency for him to step up his point production this coming season. So far, the former Duke standout has been opting for low-percentage shots, struggling to knock down jumpers and finish play off a contact.
It’s true that Ingram is still a project at 20. The Lakers' top brass will not easily lose faith in him.
However, there’s no doubt the clock has begun ticking for him to meet his potential or else it will be D’Angelo Russell all over again.
Kuzma-Randle tandem
Speaking of potential, the Kuzma-Randle combo looked really good on Sunday. Kuzma continues to turn heads this preseason, recording 15 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in 27 minutes of play. He did shoot 1-of-6 from the three-point line but the forward out of Utah offset his poor shooting from deep with high percentage shots and clutch baskets down the stretch.
Randle, on the other hand, was a beast against the Kings as he chalked up 17 points, 10 boards, three dimes and three steals despite his match-up with veteran banger Zach Randolph (16 points on 7-of-15 shooting).
Randle also showed an improved clip from deep by going 2-of-6 from the three-point line.
There were concerns on how Kuzma’s development will affect Randle’s playing time as the season progress. However, the two big men showed they can co-exist together on the same frontcourt.
