2. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope started out the season very poorly. He came out of the gates launching 3-pointers early and was doing everything but seeing them go in. He made five of his first 22 attempts and was getting booed by Lakers fans.
He had no confidence and was even turned into memes after air balling this layup attempt. Lakers fans voiced their frustrations repeatedly about wanting KCP to waive his no-trade clause so he could be traded. That didn’t come to fruition and the Lakers confidence in him has started to pay dividends.
KCP since that dreadful 5-of-22 start on 3-pointers, he has hit 30-of-70 from behind the arc. That is good for 42.9% and he is looking as confident as ever from there. As seen here he is even hitting big shots in clutch time to help the team.
Furthermore, advanced stats have him at an 111.6 offensive rating which is the highest of his career by far. His defensive rating is at 106.9 which is a little above average, but he also possesses a career-best +5.5 net-rating. He is making a positive impact after his very rough start.
His eFG% of 54.5% is a career-high and his TS% of 56.9% is also a career-high. He is thriving next to Bron and AD and his confidence level is paying off. LeBron believed in him and KCP is answering back to his early-season critics.