Los Angeles Lakers: 3 players who need to step up without LeBron James, Rajon Rondo

3. Brandon Ingram

It is hard to believe that Brandon Ingram is the longest tenured Laker on the roster. He also might have the most to prove to keep that a constant and could be the most important Laker right now.

The absence of Rondo and LeBron perhaps means more to Brandon Ingram than anyone else on the Lakers roster. He already has mentioned how it will be an opportunity for him to step up into a larger role than he has played throughout the start of this season and “up his game.”

Last year when Lonzo Ball had multiple extended absences from the court, Luke Walton went to Ingram in a point forward role, and he had a ton of success running the offense. He could presumably do something similar now in response to these current injuries and it could help Ingram break out of his minor slow start to the season.

Ingram has arguably been the member of the young core that’s growth has been stunted most by the arrival of LeBron James. He will now have the green light to take over the ball and dictate the offense whenever he wants. This newfound freedom should allow his numbers to jump back to what he was producing at the end of last year and should even improve.

In the first game without the two veteran leaders, Ingram played well and had 22 points on 8-19 from the field. He also three rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in one of his best performances of the season.

He might have missed a crucial free throw late in the game, but it only took one game for him to show that he is capable of shouldering more of the offensive workload while continuing to make an impact on defense as well.