A pace beyond halfcourt, Ingram surveyed the Cavaliers’ retreating defense. He noticed J.R. Smith sagging too far into the paint and whipped a pass to Jordan Clarkson waiting patiently in the opposite corner. Clarkson promptly slipped around Smith’s closeout to loft a 10-foot floater into the net.
The nine-second fast break was a microcosm of what makes Ingram such a tantalizing prospect—an impossible inside-out scoring threat compounded with playmaking ability and a worldly defensive prowess—and a snapshot of his nine-point, nine-assist and 10-rebound effort as the Lakers’ starting point guard last Saturday.
The sequence is also a glimpse into why many have been disappointed by the No. 2 overall pick two months into his NBA career. Ingram drew Cavs big Tristan Thompson in transition, a situation in which he was billed capable of dancing past and scoring with his rare speed and size. Instead, he quickly took his eyes off the rim and deferred to an open teammate.
Matching up against smaller defenders hasn’t been easy either, as the Lakers rookie has struggled to find his footing and position on post-up attempts. He’s shooting—gulp—27.1% from three-point land, often adding a subconscious windup to his motion to get the ball over the rim. He strangely steps out of bounds far too frequently. And some of his baseline drives look far too similar to a baby giraffe sprawling onto the floor.
Yet, to say the Lakers are being patient with Ingram’s offensive development would be an understatement. “He’s going to be a hell of a player,” veteran teammate Luol Deng said, a sentiment echoed throughout the locker room. It’s the transition from collegiate to NBA defense that the L.A. coaching staff has zeroed in on. Ingram’s length is a nuisance for opponents, and if he gets beat, that interminable 7’3″ wingspan allows him to recover with a chance to still protect the rim. But that slender frame can get absolutely crunched when he’s guarding high ball screens, and his overall grasp of team pick-and-roll defense has plagued the Lakers.
“Rotations and from the weakside,” head coach Luke Walton said of Ingram’s defensive shortcomings. “His on-ball defense is fine, it’s more of seeing the actions and anticipating the actions, which is tough. … As a kid coming out of college, you don’t know that stuff. You’re not familiar with it yet.”