Brandon Ingram Discussion: He Is Who We Thought He Could Be

I don't have Insider Access, but we still have the video

 

No. 2 overall pick Brandon Ingram didn't live up to rookie expectations with the Los Angeles Lakers last season. His 8.5 player efficiency rating over the course of 79 games ranked 14th among the 20 2016 draftees to appear in at least 50 contests.

Under the microscope of a rabid Lakers fan base, every zero-point dud or nerve-induced air-balled free throw was heavily scrutinized, and Ingram had his fair share of hiccups as a rookie.

How likely is he to bounce back in his second season? Will he break out as the best long-term prospect from his draft class?

Let's look at what didn't translate from Duke to the NBA, and what could change for Ingram as a sophomore.

What didn't translate from Duke?

Spot shooting

At Duke, Ingram looked the part of a ready-made floor spacer who could score at all three levels in the NBA. He shot 41.0 percent from 3-point territory as a Blue Devil and averaged 20.0 points per 40 minutes at age 18 playing in the NCAA's most challenging conference. But Ingram's shooting stroke, and in turn his scoring, didn't carry over to the NBA.

He shot a porous 29.4 percent from 3 on 3.3 attempts per 40 minutes, and his confidence dwindled, resulting in far too many quick swings or shot fakes. His mediocre NCAA free throw mark of 68.2 percent should have been a warning sign to his first-season shooting struggles, but a sub-30 percent clip was surprising nonetheless.


Aside from confidence, which played a big factor, why didn't Ingram's shooting translate to the NBA line?

Ingram benefited quite heavily from playing the 4 at Duke with longer closeouts for defenders and slower athletes recovering. Also more of a midrange killer at the high school level, Ingram has never been the most dynamic shooter when sprinting off of screens, catching on the hop or after a quick gather. A lot of the success he had as a shooter at Duke came because he was able to catch quite casually and step, one-two, into his 3-ball from just beyond 21 feet, often with power forwards defending him.

Playing mostly the 3 at the NBA level, Ingram -- who shoots somewhat of a naturally flat ball anyway -- didn't have the time or space to do that one-two step into his jumper. His struggles shooting off the hop, along with his so-so confidence, were exaggerated from the extended NBA line and he had issues finding his footing all season long.

Pull-up game

While he really struggled to space the floor consistently off the catch, Ingram was even less efficient off the bounce.

Ingram's 51-of-166 off-the-dribble shooting (17th percentile) handicapped him as a shot creator in the half court last season. Defenders went under ball screens and the fact that he scored only 0.607 points per possession on pick-and-roll pull-ups (9th percentile) led to far too many passed up open looks.

Ingram's ability to make a mini-hang dribble pull-up in midrange spots did translate for stretches, as did his series of impressive spinning pirouette fallaways from the midpost. Although not the most desirable shot in basketball, Ingram converted 41.9 percent of his jumpers between 17 feet and the NBA's 3 line, good for the 64th percentile among NBA players.

There's tough shot-making potential with Ingram given his size, footwork and ability to play at different speeds, but he has always had a tendency to shoot on the way down or pull his follow-through and immediately chase his misses when heavily contested, leaving a lot of pull-ups falling short. He showed quite a few flashes at Duke, but overall Ingram struggled to make contested pull-ups versus longer, more athletic wing defenders. In turn his aggressiveness, which wasn't a consistent issue at Duke, tailed off for long stretches.

Biggest concerns

Finishing in traffic

As expected given his frame and average lift in a crowd, Ingram struggled to finish consistently at the NBA level, shooting only 50.4 percent on shots at the rim plus floaters, below the league average. With far less space to work with, Ingram had issues finishing in traffic at the college level as well. Despite his tremendous reach and impressive fluidity, Ingram left quite a few points on the table against longer, more athletic teams during his freshman season, evident by his 44.4 2-point percentage versus schools that won at least half their games.

He was regularly bumped off line on his way to the rim and had a bad habit of wanting to gather off of two feet with a defender on his hip, shortening his stride length and making him a below-the-rim player.

This same issue plagued Ingram early in his rookie season, but he improved his one-foot finishing quite steadily as the year went on. Although tougher than his frame suggests, Ingram struggled to play through contact and only got to the free throw line 3.8 times per 40 minutes.

Defensive consistency

While long and rangy, Ingram also floated a bit defensively at times, losing focus off the ball and lacking a level of aggression on the glass, an area of concern at Duke as well. He was able to fall back on his tools at the collegiate level, but with more space, movement and quicker actions in the NBA, Ingram was caught off guard too often.

When fully locked in he has good feet, lateral agility and tremendous defensive potential, but a player with his tools should average far more than 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks per 40 minutes.

Most translatable rookie skills

Playmaking ability

Ingram's strong feel for the game and playmaking ability at 6-foot-10 translated to the NBA level quite seamlessly during his rookie season. Duke regularly used him in 4-5 pick-and-rolls and he carved collegiate defenses apart with his ability to facilitate over the top.

Ingram's pick-and-roll passes at Duke generated 1.32 points per possession (94th percentile). While he failed to score out of ball screens consistently due to his shooting woes, Ingram's pick-and-roll playmaking carried over to the NBA level for stretches as his ball-screen feeds led to 1.08 points per possession (66th percentile).

He's a comfortable ball handler who plays with great pace, delivers the ball from different angles and does a nice job of keeping his defender on his hip and manipulating screens. This should become even more of a weapon as his pull-up game rounds out.

He's also comfortable pushing rebounds himself and distributing in the open floor or finding teammates on the move after attacking gaps. Ingram has always played an unselfish brand of basketball and his ability to initiate offense at his size is encouraging for his future development, especially as his shot comes around, leading to harder closeouts and more driving lanes.

Slashing in space

As Ingram's rookie season progressed, he began to realize how to use his long strides to his advantage as a slasher in the half court. He became more comfortable leaping off of one foot, which wasn't always the case at Duke, and put down a handful of poster dunks thanks to his 9-2 standing reach.

He still needs to add the core strength to take contact on his way to the rim, but when he was able to get a full head of steam in space, Ingram's tools took over and he showed flashes of how dynamic he can be getting to the rim. The lanky 6-10 forward has excellent footwork as a driver and brings a unique ability to change speeds and directions for his size, even mixing in hesitation crossovers at times. As he continues to get stronger and take more bumps on his way to the rim, Ingram figures to become an above-average slasher who can make a living at the free throw line.

Post game

Ingram's post game -- and, in particular, his fallaway jumper -- translated to the NBA level.

His size and release point allow him to get his shot off over smaller wings, and he proved comfortable getting to turnarounds over either shoulder. It wasn't a huge part of his game at the collegiate level, but he still showed glimpses, and he has only improved inside of 15 feet in the NBA, scoring 0.94 points per possession (69th percentile) in the post last season.

With a fairly reliable midpost jumper, along with his ability to use quick face-up, hesitation dribbles to attack, Ingram has a chance to be a mismatch problem on isolations inside the arc.

Four reasons for a sophomore breakout

1. Late bloomer

Aside from the shooting woes, Ingram's struggles during the first half of last season shouldn't come as too big of a surprise since he's perpetually a bit of a slow starter. A late-bloomer who wasn't really seen as a potential one-and-done candidate until 2015 McDonald's All-American week, Ingram took some time to adjust at Duke, averaging only 10.9 points per game on 47.6 percent from 2 and 24.0 percent from 3 during the first seven games of his collegiate career. Ingram went on to average more than 20.0 points per 40 minutes the rest of the season, while shooting 43.5 percent from 3.

Although it took him much longer than a month to get going in the NBA, the 19-year-old Ingram showed similarly steady improvement throughout the course of his rookie season, upping his scoring each month after a dreadful December. During the final 10 games of the season, Ingram averaged 21.7 points per 40 minutes on 48.1 percent from 2 and 33.3 percent from 3.

After the All-Star break he shot with added confidence and played with far more assertiveness than early on in the season. It's important to consider Ingram's career trajectory and personality type when judging his development thus far. The hardworking, small-town, quiet kid from Kinston, North Carolina, stood 6-6 without all that much hype as recently as four years ago. At his age, Ingram -- younger than 2017 top-10 picks Josh Jackson and Lauri Markkanen -- could have very well been a freshman in college last season. So consider 2016-17 a redshirt year for Ingram -- a summer internship that included more than 2,200 minutes and 40 games as an NBA starter.


2. Physical development

Ingram's physical maturation will play a big part in his upped productivity next season and in the future. Given his late growth spurt and body type, it was always going to be a bit of a process for Ingram to gain the core strength needed to consistently play through contact and hold his spot offensively.

Seeing him live in Las Vegas during summer league, Ingram looked slightly taller and -- while still very lean -- much more comfortable playing through contact. He'll never have the frame of Jae Crowder or Jimmy Butler, but Ingram is wiry strong.

As was the case with another formerly rail-thin, late-blooming prospect, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ingram will likely gain more explosiveness as his lower body fills out.

Several NBA teams thought Antetokounmpo wasn't athletic enough back in 2013 when he went No. 15 overall, which now seems as crazy as saying Stephen Curry fell to No. 7 overall because he didn't shoot well enough. But Antetokounmpo, like Ingram, was all arms and legs as a 19-year-old and had similar issues exploding in traffic given his lack of lower body strength.

As he grew and filled out his base, he added considerable explosiveness and he's now very clearly one of the most dynamic athletes in the NBA. It's unlikely that Ingram will have a Giannis-like physical transformation, but the fact that he's still 19, a late-bloomer and all limbs suggests that he has a lot of physical maturity ahead of him, which we saw a glimpse of in Vegas.

3. Personnel change

The Lakers' change in personnel, namely the addition of Lonzo Ball, may be the biggest contributor to Ingram's bounce-back season. In part due to his own inactivity off the ball, nothing came easily for Ingram last season. Despite Luke Walton pushing for quick decisions and constant ball movement, there was far too much catch-and-hold in an offense that finished 20th in the NBA in passes per game, 26th in assists per contest and 24th in transition scoring.

In direct contrast, Ball is the definition of ball movement and quick-hitting, transition offense. He incentivizes teammates to get out and run and empowers them by giving up the ball early, encouraging players like Ingram to attack. With Ball at the helm, UCLA finished second in the NCAA in offensive efficiency, first in effective field goal percentage and third in 3-point percentage.

Like a humming Mike D'Antoni offense, Ball gets players paid. T.J. Leaf, who wasn't expected to be a one-and-done coming into his freshman season, was drafted No. 18 overall. Both Bryce Alford and Aaron Holiday had career years from an efficiency standpoint. If it weren't for medical red flags, Ike Anigbogu would have likely been a top-20 pick in this year's draft.

The addition of floor-spacers Brook Lopez, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma should also give Ingram more room to use those long strides to attack the rim consistently. The Lakers have added several high-character young pieces, and with Ball sharing the sugar there's a new, youthful energy in Los Angeles. Ball is the exact point guard that Ingram needs to maximize his potential.

4. Playing more 4

Ingram should be able to steal more minutes at the 4 this season, which bodes well for his productivity.

As was the case at Duke, Ingram is a nightmare cover as a small-ball power forward given his offensive versatility and success with additional spacing. Aside from Kuzma, who is traditionally a streaky shooter, the Lakers don't have much in terms of floor spacing at the power forward spot, making Ingram a viable option. Caldwell-Pope can easily slide up to the 3 with Jordan Clarksonsharing backcourt duties with Ball.

Ingram will have to improve his focus defensively and on the glass, but his offensive skill set may be best suited for the small-ball 4 spot as he'll have more time to get to his jumper, increasing his efficiency, leading to more hard closeouts. There aren't many 4s who can check a 6-10 point forward like Ingram, and this season could be the perfect opportunity to unleash that new look more consistently.

In terms of Ingram's long-term outlook as an NBA prospect, every team is searching for players 6-8 or taller with the length of a center, the skill set of a guard and the potential to defend multiple positions. Although he struggled to show it consistently as a rookie, Ingram has all the ingredients that franchises look for in a young centerpiece, and given his personal development along with the changes in personnel, he figures to look much more like a top prospect next season.

 

Thank you!

 

That's pretty much my caloric intake, but then... I am a short, 160lbs muscular guy. He needs to eat more. Sure, steak, eggs, fruits and vegetables are nice. Now, eat more!

 

^
Pretty much. It's good money for young players who still don't have big endorsements. And maybe the product is good, who knows... I haven't tried it, so can't comment on that.

 

It all depends on the plan for Ingram. If the plan is to get him strong but keep him lean while he naturally grows into his mature body, then what they have him doing now seems reasonable. If the plan is to get him NBA power forward muscular in the next three years then they are going to have to force feed his metabolism.

When I was in my late 20s I was 6'3" and 155. No matter what I ate I could not gain weight. But I decided I wanted to add muscle to compete in a Rec league I played in. So I hit the gym hard and I overate protein and healthy carbs. Typical breakfast was 8 eggs, a potato and a couple of slices of whole grain bread slathered in butter. Three hours later I'd eat again. After a few months I started gaining until I topped out at 230 in shape. It can be done, but most sports nutritionists aren't going to risk forcing him to eat that much.

 

I went from a bench SF to a starting PF. :JuliusPumped 1: