Los Angeles Lakers: 3 takeaways from first 23 games of season

3. Brandon Ingram’s inconsistency

Brandon Ingram has looked amazing in very small sample sizes this season. Sometimes he’ll make plays like this and you think “wow this kid is so long and talented, he’s going to be something special.”

But, it’s only in flashes that we see what he might be able to become. So far this season, Ingram has only been able to be great in small samples, never full-length games. He has scored at least 20 points only three this season.

He just doesn’t look aggressive, at least not as aggressive as I thought he would be. I understand LeBron James is going to demand the ball and take away some scoring opportunities, but LeBron has been incredible at finding everyone when they’re open and you can clearly see he tries to get everyone involved.

Ingram has a poor shot selection at times. Pulling up for a mid-range when he should be taking a big man off the dribble or passing the ball back out when he has a smaller defender on him.

Those are times when you demand the ball and take over and superstars know those moments right away. They don’t need to be told to post up the smaller guard or to iso. They see the mismatch, demand the ball, and punish the other team. Ingram hasn’t shown that killer instinct often enough this year.

It is still early, though. So let’s hold off on the “Trade Ingram” talks for now because the last thing we want to do is trade him and watch him become a superstar for another team.