1. The Young Core’s Growth
Every person’s life is full of highs and lows. A wise person never gets too elated when things are going well and never gets too depressed when life is hard. A basketball season is just like life; there are many up’s and down’s, but a wise fan never reacts too emotionally to small sample sizes.
When Ivica Zubac had three good games in a row, I smiled and thought, can he do it over 40 games? When Ingram dished out nine assists in his last game against the Kings I smiled and thought, can he average at least five assists per game for the next 40 games? You get the point. When a player shows flashes of brilliance over a few games it doesn’t matter. What matters is long-term, sustained, growth.
The Lakers young core have shown a tremendous amount of growth already during the season. Ingram, Kuzma, Ball, and Hart have all slowly gotten better on defense and now I’d consider all of them above average ball hawks, with Ingram and Ball playing so well lately that they should make many All-Defensive teams in the future.
Kuzma is one of the best finishers at the rim in the league (67% from within 5 feet) and he’s continuing to get better close to the basket. Ball has shown great improvement at getting to the basket during the season. Hart has grown as a 3-point shooter and Ingram is slowly but surely learning to swing the ball more throughout a game.
The Lakers playoff hopes rest squarely upon LeBron, McGee, Chandler, and the young core’s shoulders. We all know LeBron is an MVP candidate and that JaVale McGee and Tyson Chandler are great defenders, but we don’t know how much more the young guys can bring to the table.
Can Kuzma, Hart, Ball, and Ingram start to shoot better from behind the arc?
Can the entire Lakers team start to shoot better from the charity stripe?
Can the young core continue to mature and stop making silly turnovers?
Can the Lakers young players learn how to do all of the little things well, just like the best teams in the NBA?
If the Lakers young core continues to grow throughout the rest of the season the Purple and Gold are going to be a handful in April.