Ranking the Lakers offseason additions by their preseason play
By Jason Reed
4. Thomas Bryant
Thomas Bryant has been better than Damian Jones in the preseason thus far but his play still has not inspired much confidence out of Lakers fans. The center position has been underwhelming for LA, which could lead to Anthony Davis logging more minutes at the position than initially expected.
Bryant has gotten slightly more playing time than Jones as he is averaging just over 15 minutes per game in the preseason thus far. In those 15 minutes, Bryant has averaged 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
The numbers are not awful for that small of playing time but Bryant has lacked that it factor to get Lakers fans excited this preseason. Los Angeles needs someone that can be in the starting lineup and potentially play in crunch time and Bryant nor Jones has really earned that job.
Like Jones, there was some optimistic hope that Bryant would be able to add some frontcourt shooting to the Lakers’ offense as a way to help space the floor. Also like Jones, that simply has not been there, as Jones has missed every three he has taken in the preseason.