Lake Show Life
Fansided

Los Angeles Lakers: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has big night vs Los Angeles Clippers

By Patrick Hardy

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 27: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers goes to the basket against the LA Clippers on November 27, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 27: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers goes to the basket against the LA Clippers on November 27, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had a big night against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope might have just shown us all why his signing over the summer was well worth it. He might have also given a glimpse to Lakers’ brass on why he should be a part of the long-term plans for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Tonight, in a 120-115 loss to the in-town and co-tenant rival Los Angeles Clippers, Caldwell-Pope put up 29 points on 12-of-28 shooting, including five 3-pointers. He also added six rebounds and one assist. KCP also lived up to his reputation as a defensive specialist, adding three steals and one block to his stat line as well.

Caldwell-Pope has been contributing to the Lakers this season coming into the showdown with the Clippers. Averaging 13.5 points, 2.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds on this offensive end per 36 minutes. Defensively, he was pitching in 1.7 steals and 0.4 blocks per 36 minutes.

KCP adding value as a veteran leader for the young Lakers is a big reason he could be signed back during the upcoming offseason.

More from Lakers News

During the game against the Clippers, we saw the full potential of what he can bring on the court as well. It was exciting and gave Laker fans a reason to perk up a bit.

Is KCP a long-term option?

Does this performance validate his signing in the offseason and prove he is worth being a part of this Laker franchise long-term? To this question, I would say no. He hasn’t improved on the numbers that he was putting up in Detroit last season or the season before that.

In fact, his scoring has gotten worse from 2015-17. Going from 14.5 points for the Pistons to 12.9 per game this season for the Lakers. His effort on the boards trending in a similar direction as well. So the jury is still out on whether this is the best we might see from KCP.

Next: Lakers vs Clippers Recap and Highlights

*All statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference*

Home/Lakers News