Los Angeles Lakers: 3 roster flaws that have emerged during preseason

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was awful for the Lakers last season, and his unsuccessful play has carried over into the preseason.

During the 2018-2019 season, KCP had a -3.9 net rating good for third worst on the Lakers among regular rotation players.

Here’s how he’s performed during the Lakers first three preseason contests:

• Versus the Warriors: 0 net rating (2nd worst on the Lakers)
• Versus the Nets: -6 net rating (3rd worst on the Lakers)
• Versus the Nets: -9 net rating (5th worst on the Lakers)

KCP has been weak on offense and defense during the preseason.

Caldwell-Pope’s most significant problem on offense is that when his outside shot isn’t falling, he doesn’t bring anything else to the table.

Compare KCP to Alex Caruso.

Throughout the Lakers second game against the Nets, Alex Caruso shot the ball as bad as he ever has while playing for the Lakers (He went 1-for-13 from the field). Despite Caruso’s remarkable Lonzo Ball impersonation, he still found ways to help the Lakers on offense. Alex had five assists, and he regularly put pressure on the Nets defense by driving down the lane.

Kentavious is the opposite. He doesn’t get his teammates involved, and he rarely attacks the rim. KCP’s a 3-point shooting specialist who is a below-average outside shooter.

On defense, KCP has the prototypical size (He’s 6’5″ with a 6’8″ wingspan) to be a highly effective ballhawk. He even tries hard on the less glamorous side of the ball.

If you watch Caldwell-Pope closely when he’s guarding a player out on the perimeter, he bends his knees, stays on his toes, puts his hands up, and tenses up ready to move his feet. Those are all great qualities, but time after time, he gets beat.

Danny Green-the best defensive shooting guard in the NBA-looks much different when he guards his man. He doesn’t bend his knees as much, he stays more flat-footed, and he looks relaxed instead of tense. He doesn’t look the part of a lockdown specialist the way KCP does, yet he rarely gets beat off the dribble.

If KCP has the size, length, and correct form to be a top defender like Danny Green, why isn’t he a better ballhawk?

Green has said numerous times since he’s joined the Lakers that he spends hours studying film. He knows what his assignment likes to do on offense; thus, he often knows what his man is going to do before he acts.

It’s evident that KCP doesn’t study film the way the great defenders do, so he’s left guessing on defense. That split-second advantage that Danny Green gains from reviewing his assignment’s games is the difference between an elite defender and a below-average one, like Caldwell-Pope.

KCP is above Caruso and Zach Norvell Jr. on Frank Vogel’s depth chart, but that’s a flaw. Kentavious is one of the Lakers worst players, yet it feels like he’s going to soak up vital minutes during the regular season.