Lakers: What Can Jabari Brown Bring to the Team?
By Mike Garcia
The recent Laker acquisition, Jabari Brown, just might be getting playing time against the New York Knicks tonight.
Wesley Johnson and Jeremy Lin missed practice yesterday, but both are good to go against NYK tonight. Jabari Brown's also expected to play.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 12, 2015
But, who is Jabari Brown?
Simply put, Jabari Brown is a flat out shooter. Jordan Clarkson’s teammate from the University of Missouri averaged 19.9 points per game on 51.3% shooting from the field, 41% behind the three-point arc. His true-shooting percentage was 62.9%. He averaged nearly 20 points per game on just 12.4 field goal attempts.
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While playing for the LA Defenders, he averaged 24.4 points per game on 45.7% shooting from the field, 39.2% behind the arc. While the percentages have dropped slightly, it is expected considering the level of competition in terms of size, skill, and athleticism at the NBDL level.
What makes his scoring stand out is, while being primarily a jump shooter, he has found a way to attack the basket and use his strong upper body to draw fouls. His free throw attempt rate went from 7.6 at the University of Missouri to 7.4 at the NBDL level.
That bodes well for efficient scoring.
Manny Harris got a look from the Lakers after scoring 55 points for the LA Defenders last season. The Lakers are giving Jabari Brown a look, considering he scored 50 points on 16 of 22 shooting from the field not that long ago.
Expect Jabari Brown to get the same looks at the basket as Wayne Ellington. Both are flat out shooters from the field. Wayne Ellington has improved his ball-handling throughout the season to deal with increased defensive pressure. Brown has become more opportunistic at attacking the basket. Both Ellington and Brown fit well next to Clarkson’s attacking style of basketball.
It will be interesting to see both Jordan Clarkson and Jabari Brown on the floor together. They had good chemistry while playing for the Tigers last season. Neither of them could have been expecting to play side-by-side on the same team with the Lakers.
Tonight is their chance.
Next: Rebuilding the Lakers: Byron Scott Was The Teammate No One Wanted