Los Angeles Lakers Report Card: First Quarter Player Grades

SF Brandon Ingram

"“If you don’t average 20 points a game I’m going to be disappointed.”"

Magic Johnson gave Brandon Ingram his goal to improve on this season. Ingram has made steady progress in his sophomore campaign. Although Ingram is averaging just under 16 PPG, he continues to climb towards that 20 PPG average.

Ingram has shown flashes of his pre-draft comparison in Warriors small forward Kevin Durant. The 6’9″ small forward got off to a faltering start but has almost completely turned around this season. Ingram blasted the Warriors in a loss by scoring a career-high 32 points, including instances of ruining Draymond Green, the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year.

Ingram has improved both on offense and defense. Every instance of his refined shooting touch has elevated his game to the next level. His isolation game has taken its next step. Ingram still struggles at times at the free-throw line, but his aggressiveness has shown me that he can be a very solid player on the offense.

There are still some learning curves for the 20-year-old. He still needs to polish his lateral quickness and impact on the defensive end. Too often, Ingram allows his opponents to blow by easily, exemplified by Grizzlies small forward Tyreke Evans who scored 26 against him and company.

However, the second round pick has made great strides to enforce his talent. The Duke product must show Magic and Lakers Nation that he should be deemed untouchable by a franchise looking for a brand new superstar to build around.