FanPost

Brandon Ingram

Brandon Ingram is not having a good year. Any Lakers fan that believes Ingram is playing well or has even improved from last year is delusional. Here are Ingram's traditional stats:

Almost ever stat has declined from Ingram's 2nd year to his 3rd year.

The advanced stats paint the same ugly picture of Brandon Ingram as a player:

VORP: -0.2, 13th on the Lakers

BPM: -5.2, 12th on the Lakers

DBPM: -0.9, 10th on the Lakers

OBPM: -4.3, 10th on the Lakers

Win Shares: 0.0, 11th on the Lakers

DWS: 0.2, 8th on the Lakers

OWS: -0.2, 14th on the Lakers

PER: 10.7, 11th on the Lakers

Last night's game against the Hawks was just another typical Ingram game: He shot less than 50%, pulled down 3 rebounds, had 1 assist, 0 steals, 1 block, 6 turnovers, and on the last play of the game he let the Hawks rookie point guard blow by him and get a clear path to the basket. Luckily Tyson was there or it would have been another loss.

I'm a huge Lakers fan, so just like anybody else who visits this site, I want Ingram to play well. I want him to become an all-star, but the truth is that right now, Ingram is not a good player, in fact he is worse than a replacement level player. Ingram fans can rationalize his play however they want to. They can say he's only 21, give him time. He's playing a new position, he needs time to adjust. Don't overreact its early in the season.

I don't buy any of these excuses. Ingram doesn't impact the game the way good players do. Good players pull down rebounds when they are missing shots. All-stars pick up key assists when they are having an off night. All NBA players take pride in D'ing up opposing players. That's what I loved about Kobe Bryant. He could clank 80% of his shots during a game and still help the Lakers win. Lonzo is the same.

Last year I really thought that Ingram would end up having a hall-of-fame career, but as I've watched him through the first portion of this season I don't even know if he'll make one all-star game before he retires. I hope Ingram turns his season around, because I believe he works hard and he's talented, but I'm not going to hold my breath.