Brandon Ingram is sure to his experience his fair share of “welcome to the NBA” moments during his rookie season. Wavering confidence, though, should not be a problem for the level-headed Los Angeles Lakers’ rookie. Ingram understands exactly what he’s dealing with and will stick to what he knows as he prepares for the rigors of his first NBA season, as Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times explains:
The matchups won’t get much tougher for Brandon Ingram than one he faced Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Kevin Durant, another former second-overall pick, a seven-time all-star, the 2014 league MVP and new Golden State Warrior, metaphorically towered over Ingram during the Lakers’ 112-107 loss.
Durant finished with 17 points in 22 minutes, some of that against Ingram. He shot 63.6%, collected five defensive rebounds and blocked two shots — one of them Ingram’s. Ingram finished with 12 points in 25 minutes, shooting 50%, which marked one of his better shooting nights of the preseason. He had three assists and made both of his three-point attempts.
It was another learning experience for the 19-year-old rookie in a preseason full of them.
“He’s gonna figure out his spots as it goes on,” said Lakers small forward Luol Deng, whom Ingram backs up for now. “He’s so talented that the game comes easy to him. It’s preseason, so he’s just going through the change of size, speed and everything. …
“He’s always willing to listen and learn. I’ve been in the league a long time. I’ve seen guys that didn’t listen, and it didn’t work out for them.”
Offensively, Ingram is still working through early kinks. He is making 32.4% of his shots, the fifth-lowest among first-round picks this preseason. He went 0-for-5 in the Lakers’ exhibition opener against the Sacramento Kings, but has improved in the last week.
Ingram is quiet, so Lakers Coach Luke Walton often has to ask to check in on his confidence. Ingram always tells Walton he’s fine, and that his aggressiveness on offense hasn’t waned supports that answer.
“You have to do what got you here,” Ingram said. “Keep battling, keep being aggressive, keep knocking your shots down that you know you’re going to make and keep going.”
Defensively, the Lakers are working to have Ingram learn how to better use his length. Walton has used film of Warriors forward Andre Iguodala for instructive purposes. Not to compare the two players, but to show Ingram an example of how length can work.
Practice is often better than games for Ingram.
“He looks way more comfortable in practice,” Walton said. “He’s in there all the time. He gets more opportunities as far as playmaking. We put him in at the point the last four, five minutes [on Saturday night]. He’s the type of player that just goes off the feel and the flow of the game a lot. … From time to time it seems like he kind of just floats around out there and doesn’t get a ton of touches or shots.”
Closing that gap will help Ingram take the next step in his development.
