Gabe Vincent appeared in two trips to the NBA Playoffs with the Los Angeles Lakers. The former Lakers guard had10 playoff games wearing purple and gold under his belt, totaling 168 minutes on the floor. Despite all of that, Luke Kennard has already put him in the rearview mirror.
Kennard had a dazzling Game 1 performance in his first outing as a Laker during the NBA Playoffs. The sharpshooting veteran notched 27 points, setting a career high for himself in the scoring department for the postseason when the undermanned Lakers needed him most.
Los Angeles managed to secure an exciting 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets in the process and Kennard immediately eclipsed the man he was traded for. In just one game, the Lakers veteran outproduced the totality of Vincent's playoff scoring with the franchise.
Kennard's 27 points are already six more than Vincent ever scored during his time in Los Angeles. Over his two playoff runs with the Lakers, the current Atlanta Hawks guard only managed to amass 21 points. Lakers fans have known this trade was a slam dunk for a long time. Somehow, someway, there is always a new wrinkle that makes it all the more lopsided in their team's favor.
Luke Kennard has already blown right past Gabe Vincent in Lakers playoff scoring
Vincent's playoff statistics in Los Angeles do not paint a pretty picture. Over those aforementioned 10 games, the former Laker averaged only 2.1 points per game, shooting 30.8 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from beyond the arc.
For a player who was asked to stretch the court and give the Lakers a boost from the perimeter, a 40.4 true shooting percentage during your playoff career in Los Angeles is rough. It's more than rough, it was downright dreadful.
Vincent was always a streaky shooter in Los Angeles. Cold streaks just continuously happened to find him as soon as the whistle was blown to tip off playoff basketball for the Lakers.
By contrast, Kennard has yet to miss a shot from 3-point land in Los Angeles. Granted, that will not last forever, but it does speak to what can be expected with the current Lakers sniper.
Kennard has been a model of consistency as a shooter throughout his entire career. That much has not changed since putting on a Lakers jersey. His 44.8 percent from deep during the regular season is just about on par with his career percentage of 44.2.
With the return timelines of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves up in the air, the Lakers will need consistent scoring to come from elsewhere. Kennard will be asked over and over to provide that much. So far, he's delivered.
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