Lakers: Early Season Grades
Jordan Clarkson: B-
2016-17 Per-Game stats: 14.8 PTS, 2.8 REB, 2.2 AST, 1.7 STL, 0.1 BLK
Jordan Clarkson has been great for the Lakers this season. Instead of whining about being demoted to the bench, he has stepped up and given the Lakers the spark they need off the bench.He also worked on becoming a more willing defender this summer, making it difficult for any second string guard to keep up with him.
One thing Clarkson has lacked this season is 3-point shooting. Clarkson is shooting 35 percent from deep this season, which is above his career average, however worked all summer to become a threat from outside this season. No one is scared of someone shooting 35 percent from 3.
That poor shooting is probably why Walton decided to go with Nick Young in the starting lineup. Young can play defense, sometimes, and is a better shooter than Clarkson. Regardless of Clarkson’s role with the team, he’s with the Purple and Gold for another four years.
He’s young and he can play. And unlike a lot of the contracts signed this summer, Clarkson’s contract is reasonable.
Larry Nance Jr.: B+
2016-17 Per-Game stats: 7.6 PTS, 5.8 REB, 1.3 AST, 1.2 STL, 0.4 BLK
Larry Nance Jr. is giving the original “Larry Legend” a run for his money. Who knew the guy the Lakers picked up with the No. 27 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft would end up being a fan favorite?
It’s easy to see why though. Nance’s energy on the court is invaluable, both on the defensive end:
and the offensive end:
Need I say more? Probably, but moving on.
Lou Williams: A+
2016-17 Per-Game stats: 17.5 PTS, 2.2 REB, 3.4 AST, 1.3 STL, 0.1 BLK
Oh how wrong I was about Lou Williams. Earlier this season, I wrote a pretty lengthy article on why I thought the Lakers would be better off without the former Sixth Man of the Year. While I still think there is an argument to be made there, it’s not nearly as strong as it used to be.
Coming off of a 40-point game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Williams has done his nickname “Sweet Lou” justice. While averaging just 24.2 minutes per game, Williams is putting up a career-high 17.5 points per game coming off of the bench. In other words, he’s been great this season.
Whether or not the Lakers want to dangle his ever growing trade value in front of other teams is completely up to them, but while LA has his him he is almost guaranteed to get buckets.
Brandon Ingram: B
2016-17 Per-Game stats: 8.1 PTS, 3.8 REB, 1.8 AST, 0.6 STL, 0.5 BLK
Brandon Ingram is longer than a CVS Pharmacy receipt. In the Lakers’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Ingram posted a career-high 3 blocks in one quarter. The kid is long.
Defense has been the area he has been most impressive this season. For someone his age, the way he reads the game is impressive and it will only get better as time goes on. His offensive game is a work in progress.
While the Lakers drafted Ingram for his sweet shooting. he has struggled a bit shooting from the field (37.1 percent). However, with each game Ingram looks more and more comfortable.
His mentor, Jerry Stackhouse, expects Ingram to breakout by Christmas. We’re all hoping for the same.
Tarik Black: B+
2016-17 Per-Game stats: 5.8 PTS, 5.2 REB, 0.6 AST, 0.3 STL, 0.6 BLK
Tarik Black has the fourth best box plus-minus on the team at 0.5., which puts him in the top 20 overall bigs coming off of the bench in the plus-minus category. Just slightly worse than Marreese Speights, and miles better than Enes Kanter, Al Jefferson and Bismack Biyombo.
Aside from Lou Williams, Black has been the heart and soul of the Lakers’ now famous bench mob. The only alarming thing about Black this season is his field goal percentage.
While his free throw percentage sky rocketed from a sad 42.2 percent last season to an impressive 80 percent, Black is shooting a career-low 49.5 percent from the field.
Since Black isn’t a stretch big, most of his shots are coming from right around the rim. Translation: there’s no reason his field goal percentage should be so low.