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

Thank you, Magic; you have Mr. Untouchable looking like Wesley Johnson out there...

 

did you say fun?



basketball is serious business

 

Well then how about stop telling how great he is going to be and actually help him earn it. Frankly he is the anti-Kuzma right now. Magic and Manna need to shut it up for a while and let this guy grow into whatever he’s going to be.

 

Couldn't be more disappointed in Ingram right now, and now my projections of 12/6/4 on 42% shooting are actually looking very very...unrealistic (and I was being VERY conservative with my numbers). He's definitely not going to average 6 rebounds or 4 assists...and his points might be around 10 or 11ppg at this rate. I dunno, suddenly the outlook for Ingram is very very bleak.

He doesn't look like he's really improved at all from last year. Sure, he's stronger but I don't see it translating yet on the offensive or defensive end.

He was bad on both ends last night...and quite frankly, Magic needs to STFU forever now about Ingram and his 20ppg. Placed very unrealistic expectations on him.

For as much crap as I give Randle and Clarkson...they'e shown they're at least good at something. Ingram hasn't proven sh!t yet. We need to start criticizing him the same way we do the others (and Randle actually has improved every year and looks to be more locked in defensively this year).

 

I hate to say it, but Ingram is playing very tight right now, (not thinking or overthinking, having no fun and playing full of tension and anxiety)

I agree with what Fabfourlakers and what has been said here and on gameday chat. On gameday I commented that he was playing like Randle at his worst in that he if forcing the offense. I think the Wesley Johnson comparison is apt with him not using his physical tools effectively and him flaking out.

Even worse, I can see a comparison between him and DWIGHT HOWARD on offense, in the sense that he is floundering and being ineffective.

I don't think he is broken and his issues are unsolvable but concerns and criticisms are valid. The weight room seems to be the worst thing for him, as he is playing muscle bound rather than thinking things through. Kobe gained muscle, but never relied on it or had it become detrimental to his game.

My fingers are crossed, and I didn't realise till this year how stoned/odd his eyes look. What is up with that?

 

It's crazy to think that Ingram, not Randle, not clarkson...is goin to be the guy that will be criticized heavily this year due to all these people (even peopel outside of the lakers) hyping him up as a break out player. And man, if it wasn't for Kuzma coming onto the scene...I would be totally depressed right now with Ingram's play.

 

He’s not disappointing. He’s young, skinny, and overhyped by management in their efforts to give hope to the fans suffering from the last 5yrs of dismal results. If they stop the hype, fan expectations would go down, and we would be presently surprised with his natural development.

 

He looks terrible, let's see Kuz at the 3 until BI gets better

 

First of all...what Cookie said.

Second of all, the hype machine was player driven, with an assist from Lavar. Not once has Magic said that this team will make the playoffs. Rob has guaranteed that the Lakers would be fun to watch and nothing more. It was Zo and our players that are aiming to make the playoffs...as they should.

The Lakers, as a dismal team for the last few years, are only behind the Warriors in national TV exposure this season. Vegas odds insinuate that we have a fighting chance at making the playoffs. Our SL exposure and performance added to the hype.

Magic has upped his players and if you want to develop league interest, especially when it comes down to the trade deadline, how is that detrimental to us in any way? If fans need to do anything, its to allow a new team with a new floor general and new FO to come together. I understand everybody is impatient at this point, but Kobe needed to retire and Mitch/Jimbo needed to go to finally see a #TurnOfTheTide. We're talking about 4 preseason games in which our starting 1 and 5 have not played in a portion of them and with each other.

The season is going to be a buzzsaw, but why is everybody so up in arms right now? We haven't really even seen this team together yet.

Anyways, here is a glimpse at what Jeanie feels and again its completely grounded with no hyped up expections, but wow, the shade towards our previous basketball ops is real. Haha

 

Thank You

 

How do you up interest if said player is failing to live up to expectation?

 

Kinda tired of seeing the front office on TV. I wish they would do what Dr Buss did and chill. Tired of hearing Jeanie talk. Magic is Magic I guess, thats what he does. Prefer to not hear them talk anymore.

 

Khmrp: Simple answer - patience.
Long-winded convoluted ( abeer) verbal diarrhea answer - yeah, I ain't doing that...I'm too lazy....well maybe I'll give you a few words (I'll keep it under 2000 for sure).

But just a few names - PG and Embiid. PG wanted out of a small market and via his agent was "hell-bent" on heading to LA's big market opportunity. I mean, we're not a competitor yet, however dude wanted to come here cause its home and of course, its the farthest thing from a small market team like Indy. OKC knowing all this took a chance regardless. Now leave it to Indy to help OKC shed a bad contract, but still another small town team believed it could sway PG into staying (ie grass is greener effect). Now look at Embiid...he's played in 31 games over 3 years and dude got that bag. Crazy! But based off that potential and expectation, Philly went full Philly again.

In a roundabout way, I'm saying that teams will do the damnedest things if they believe that there is a possibility that expectations can be met. If you hype up BI as an untouchable, you already create leverage in any trade talks around him. If he doesn't meet that production that you expect of him, other teams will wonder, maybe its the bright lights of LA that are holding him back...maybe if he has an opportunity with our team, he can flourish.

Now if he does come through and meets expectations, then the FO just gave him that motivation to get to the next level and that could possibly lead to more team wins and other free agents and players feeling that if they team up with BI, they can take the Lakers places.

Its a win-win to set lofty goals on players that can take it and embrace it. Now if they are weak of mind, it can be a deterrent and we shouldn't waste our time trying to motivate them. BI makes me believe he's part of the former rather than the latter.

Its hard to be patient after the years of ineptitude we have endured. But I'm sure we can afford a bit longer than 4 preseason games before we start shoveling dirt on the dude.

 

Well what most are saying is that magic lofty expectation is sort of causing BI issues, hes forcing things that isnt there cause he thinks he needs to show that he is that 20ppg guy

 

I believe his play is body related. Soon his coordination, body control, muscle memory will all sync up with his new playing weight. Till then he's going to face nagging injuries (Luke alluded to it as much in his last presser) and he's going to struggle with his shot as he adjusts it.

I'll tell you this...if y'all are worried that we're going to break our young'ns like Byron did with his no-nonsense tactics, then understand that a guy like Kobe is no longer in the room to cater to. Also understand that both Luke and Magic have told him that he should have fun out there. If these guys are cracking the whip demonstrating tough love on the kid, there's no way they would tell him to go out there and have fun. So BI will embrace that and work his tail off on D, as the game comes to him.

In that regard, I don't really see him forcing the issue and hurting the team flow moving forward. However, lets keep it real...even if he did, we're not talking about a world-beating offense that he was breaking away from. This team is still a work in progress...so being a newly constructed team, there's nothing established for us to really break away from. I mean, in that case, BI is not even the only offender....Luke has said that Kuz breaks the offense to shoot a few pick and pops. However he digs how confident and aggressive Kuz is when he does so, specifically late in games.

I'm not worried. Hopefully, in time, you guys will see it too. Hope the turnaround is quick tho, cause I understand why fans are losing patience.

 

Would rather be pleasantly surprised than extremely disappointed