Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons why fans should stop hating on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
By Robert Marvi
3. He’s shooting well
The one big criticism of KCP last season – that he wasn’t hitting shots – isn’t a valid criticism right now.
His ability to hit from the perimeter, especially from beyond the arc, is his biggest positive attribute. As mentioned earlier, he’s shooting 38.4 percent from downtown through the first 28 games of this season.
When Avery Bradley went down with a hairline fracture in his right leg in mid-November, coach Frank Vogel moved KCP into the starting lineup. He’s been delivering ever since.
In the 17 games since then, he’s been shooting 50.4 percent from the field and a red-hot 43.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Some may criticize him because he’s averaging just 8.6 points a game this season, which is down from 11.4 last season when he played the same number of minutes per game. But how many points KCP scores isn’t really the measure of how well he’s playing offensively. It’s his efficiency, and his efficiency has been great.
By giving the Lakers a 3-point shooter who can get blistering hot, other teams can’t really get away with helping off him defensively. This opens things up for LeBron James and Anthony Davis to do their thing in the painted area.