I think part of it is that he doesn't like to be perceived as just a shooter and sees himself as a "fully fledged" basketball player, who can do more. He's just trying to make the right play every time and seems to diminish the value of his own 3-pointers in his mind. He does make many good plays outside of the sniping BTW, He seems to have a pretty high BBIQ. This isn't to say I wouldn't like him to shoot more, but I think I kind of understand him and it's not as bad as it is psrceivrd to be, because ge usually makes a good play (even if not the perfect one).
He was a really good high school QB (in Ohio of all places so that's big deal) - I just don't think he's wired to just shoot, he plays like a good QB would. Oddly he might be the best "pure" PG the Lakers have. I mean he did that QB thing where he preps his armband waiting for the shotgun snap while Marcus's pass was already in the air to him.
Huge trade in hindsight. I thought it was great when it happened, but Luke is a legitimate rotation piece for a contender and we got that for Gabe (who was a great locker room guy but just not effective). Would be great to bring him back for a longer term as a kind of combo guard behind Reaves and Luka. He's solid on both sides of the floor and his shooting and spacing is elite.
Once I sees Kennard catch the rock from behind the Land of Plenty and let it fly? Said to meself "Oh, here we go, baby!"
Everyone did! How do you leave open the best three point shooter in the league behind the line for the game winner, lol? He was wide open!! A two pointer could only tie it up and bring OT. Instead you leave the second highest percentage 3 point shooter of all time in NBA open! Great bullet pass from Smart.
Because you have to guard Luka/Lebron/and AR lol? Frankly Orlando sucked twice to end the game on defense even though they played the Lakers offensive stars as tough as any team has this year till then - made life difficult but when crunch time hits the star power wins out - either with the stars or letting the role guys get easy shots
So, they fouled Lebron with no call, then they fouled Luke with no call, we really lucked out that he made that 3 but I really hope the Lakers submit film to the league with all the bad calls made in this game. It is getting to be a joke.
It's just crazy how ONE player could make such a huge difference in a team. With Gabe, this team would not have had this winning streak... Instead of guarding Gabe, they would double LeBron, Austin, or Luka. They would not even bother worrying about Gabe because he isn't a focal point on offense or defense for that matter. There would be no sniper on the Lakers to make the other team pay and Gabe would just be out there running a triathlon. Couple that with how Smart does everything better than Gabe, Gabe had no place on this team whatsoever. Just with Kennard, not even a highly sought after player in the league, has made a drastic difference for this team. I hope this team understands what they need coming this offseason and further. One player can make a huge difference. Now imagine if they can get 2-3 more players like Kennard who individually, isn't great, but when paired with Luka, LeBron, and Reaves, can bring immense value to the roster.
