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Los Angeles Lakers: Tyler Ennis liked team-first mindset

By Kenneth Teape

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 06: Tyus Jones #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves guards Tyler Ennis #10 of the Los Angeles Lakers as he drives to the basket in the second half of the game at Staples Center on April 6, 2018 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. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 06: Tyus Jones #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves guards Tyler Ennis #10 of the Los Angeles Lakers as he drives to the basket in the second half of the game at Staples Center on April 6, 2018 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. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers point guard Tyler Ennis was happy to be a part of a group of players that shared a team-first mindset.

The Los Angeles Lakers may not have qualified for the postseason following the 2017-18 season, but there were plenty of positive takeaways from the season. For starters, the team improved by nine wins this season over 2016-17.

That may not seem like a big deal, but given some of the challenges the team faced, it is an impressive feat. Whenever the team looked to be gaining some momentum and putting things together, an injury would derail them.

Julius Randle was the only player to appear in all 82 games in the regular season. Only three other players even broke the 70-game plateau. Josh Hart played in 63 games. Brandon Ingram played in only 59, while Lonzo Ball played in 52. Despite joining the team at the NBA Trade Deadline, both Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye each missed double-digit games once on the Lakers.

With all of the injuries occurring, Luke Walton had to dig deep into his bench for players. One of the players that he turned to was Tyler Ennis.

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Ennis was re-signed after being acquired from the Houston Rockets in a trade prior to the NBA Trade Deadline in Feb. 2017. He played well after being acquired, averaging 7.7 points and 2.4 assists in 17.8 minutes per game.

That performance helped earn Ennis a new deal with the team. Ennis signed a two-year deal on July 26th, 2017. The second season is non-guaranteed, but he is someone that the Lakers could retain on the cheap.

This season, Ennis was in and out of the rotation. In the month of February, he didn’t play more than five minutes in any game he appeared in, receiving a DNP five times. That followed a 16-game stretch in which Ennis played at least nine minutes in every game, 13 of which he received double-digit minutes of playing time.

Despite the constantly changing rotations and shuffling of lineups, the Lakers’ identity never changed. No matter who was on the court, the Lakers played good team basketball. They shared the ball well and kept everyone involved.

That team-first mindset is something that Ennis was happy to be a part of.

"“What I’ve noticed, being a point guard, is that playing the right way is what gets me noticed and what people take note of,” Ennis explained.He believes the entire team played with that same mindset. “That’s why we had some games at the end that even though we were out, we beat the Spurs, played Houston pretty tough,” Ennis said in his exit interview."

Ennis is right about the team-first mindset. Eight different Lakers averaged at least 2.0 assists per game this season, led by 7.2 from Lonzo Ball. Oddly enough, Ennis fell just below that number with 1.9 assists per game.

Los Angeles finished the season seventh in the NBA in assists per game, totaling 23.8 per game. That is a vast improvement from years past.

It is the first time since the 2013-14 season that the team ranked in the top-10 of the NBA. The years in between were ugly. In 2016-17 the Lakers ranked 26th in assists per game, last in 2015-16 and tied for 20th in 2014-15.

Next: Los Angeles Lakers Ultimate Guide to 2018 Offseason

Hopefully, this is a trend that continues. While the team’s offensive rating wasn’t great, the potential is there for it to become great. As long as they keep each other involved, and the youngsters continue developing, the sky is the limit for this current Lakers’ core.

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