The Lakers most efficient perimeter scorer, Wayne Ellington, is shooting 54%, a career high. He is making 71% of his two point shots, a career high. His specialty- three point shooting- is at a career low, 30%. Still, when he is in the game with the Lakers second unit, Ellington is the most reliable offensive threat the Lakers have.
No, he’s not Nick Young. He’s not a binge shot maker or a binge bad shot taker. His on court personality trends towards bland. He doesn’t create contact nor does he drive to the rim and finish. But he comes off of screens or he gets himself open and makes shots he is being paid to make. Wayne Ellington does not force anything.
Oct 29, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Wayne Ellington (2) against the Phoenix Suns during the home opener at US Airways Center. The Suns defeated the Lakers 119-99. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
He struggled in the preseason with his shot. Every night it was the same clank, clank, clank at the rim. But, surprisingly, since the season started, Ellington has been a consistent offensive player who doesn’t get enough touches. He plays 21 minutes a night on this mix matched hybrid team that can’t seem to do basic things with regularity.
Ellington’s game has been put into the deep freeze by point guards who have not been able to get him the ball at the exact moment when he loses his defender and is open. Add to that piece of ineptitude, this: none of the Lakers big men are extraordinary passers. So, Ellington misses shot opportunities on a nightly basis.
Earlier this week, Ellington was candid about the mood of the team or maybe he was just speaking of himself. “We should be mad. We should treat next game like it’s a Game 7 of a championship. We’ve got to win.”
Wayne Ellington has never been in a game 7. He was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves and spent two years in obscurity. Losing is nothing new to him. When he was with the Timberwolves he had a stretch of games that were miserable. He lost 13 games in a row twice during his rookie year. He lost 14 games in a row his second year.
He was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies and then the Cleveland Cavaliers where he played for Byron Scott. The Cavs lost 10 games in a row and Ellington played in 9 of those games. Last year was a relief. The Mavericks longest losing streak was three games in a row. That only happened once. Also, last year was the first time Wayne Ellington was in the playoffs. Against the San Antonio Spurs, an exhilarating series that went the distance, Wayne Ellington played a total of 7 minutes, making one shot.
This year, he is getting more visibility because it is the Lakers and because, as Lee Jenkins pointed out in Sports Illustrated, the Lakers are a “dark comedy featuring abominable defense and an inexplicable attachment to midrange jumpers.” Television can’t get enough of their dethroning.
In the middle of all of it, Wayne Ellington is making the most of his opportunity. His contract is not fully guaranteed and won’t be until the January deadline so he is playing to remain on a team that has no size and very few shot creators. The Lakers are one of two teams- the 76ers being the other- that have not won a game.
It’s obvious why. Last in defense, last in three point shots made, middle of the pack in offense- you can’t win in this era of the NBA with those dismal numbers. And yet Ellington has been in worse situations than the Lakers. Given his history, it’s hard to believe he is ratcheting up some monstrous anger because the Lakers are who we thought they were going to be given their talent deficit.
Stu Lantz, a former Laker himself, and the current television analyst for the team, has perspective about being “mad.” He constantly reminds us that a mad player is a bad player. Emotion creates fatigue and fatigue creates mistakes. It interrupts logical thinking and organization.
In the two games the Lakers had a chance of winning- the Clippers and Suns– they lost because of their disorganization on offense and defense. In multiple possessions there was a lack of confusion on what they were supposed to run and how. Part of it can be excused by their opponents. The Rockets, Suns, Clippers and Warriors have a 18-6 record in the first two weeks. Part of it is that this Lakers team is a new group of players missing several injured players. Part of it is a new coaching staff, a new structure, a new everything. And part of it is them- the players themselves who are responsible for what they have not been able to accomplish.
One win.