Los Angeles Lakers’ Backcourt In Good Hands
The Los Angeles Lakers have been a carousel of guards this season. Between injuries to Kobe Bryant, Ronnie Price, and Jeremy Lin, the door has been opened to many young, aspiring back-court players such as Dwight Buycks and Jabari Brown, as well as rookie prospect Jordan Clarkson.
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Although Buycks (26) is no longer on the Lakers’ roster due to a broken hand suffered during a loss to the Dallas Mavericks on April 13, his time in L.A. might not yet be over. He performed well through the six games he played with the team, posting 8.7 points per-game and showed an improved three-point stroke going seven of 11 from beyond the arc during his stint. The sample size for Buycks is minuscule, but the Lakers should give him a look for next season, especially if they miss out on a top-tier free-agent this summer. Buycks’ speed and athleticism could be a valuable offensive compliment to the shooting potential of Jordan Clarkson and Jabari Brown. Don’t write off Dwight Buycks just yet, as he could make a surprising impact for the Lakers next season.
Like Buycks, Jabari Brown was a late season D-League call-up that has impressed during his time with the Lakers. With the ability to shoot as well, and with his six-foot five-inch frame, Brown could turn into something special in L.A. The catastrophe that Nick Young has been this season may have been a blessing in disguise for the Lakers and Brown alike. The 22 year-old wing has suited up in 18 games this season for the purple and gold, posting 10.8 points per-game while shooting 40.1 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from three-point range. Not stellar percentages, but certainly not bad for a rookie of only 18 games who’s barely been able to get his feet wet in NBA waters.
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Brown will likely be favored over Nick Young next season (provided Young is still on the team), especially if Byron Scott is still the head coach. Though Kobe Bryant‘s return from injury will undoubtedly reduce Brown’s playing time, he can still squeeze into the rotation, especially if Jeremy Lin should depart in free-agency. While Bryant will essentially be a Laker for as long as he wants to be one, Brown could represent the future at the two-guard spot, and if he has impressive showings at the summer-league and during training camp/pre-season, he could be looking at a healthy load of minutes next year.
Jordan Clarkson: is he good? Is he bad? Is he the Lakers’ future point-guard?
These are all questions that need to be answered, and what better way to answer them than to throw him into the fire once again next season? Although the Lakers may pursue Rajon Rondo in free-agency, Clarkson may actually benefit from having someone like Rondo playing ahead of him, at least for one or two seasons. Although Clarkson has shown a far-superior shooting and scoring ability to that of Rondo, his facilitation of the offense has been inconsistent at best through his rookie campaign.
Since it is unlikely that Clarkson will un-learn how to shoot under Rondo, he could stand to gain some pure point-guard skill from him.
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Although Clarkson has shown flashes of being a viable offensive motor, he will need to bring his 3.5 assists per-game average up if he is to truly be a respectable point-guard in this league. His lack of assists, as well as his low shots per-game average of 10.1 per-game goes to show that there is a lot of empty ball movement coming from his end. Yes, he might move the ball, but if nothing comes to fruition as a result of his ball-movement, then it’s nearly as bad as him simply isolating and charging in for a shot. Even though Clarkson’s team is terrible, he needs to learn to create offense for them in order to survive in today’s point-guard heavy NBA.
Although none of these prospects have had much of an impact defensively, hope shouldn’t be lost on that end of the floor. Defense at the NBA level is often a harder adjustment to make than offense. Plus playing a hectic defensive scheme such as the one Byron Scott runs, with a laughable defensive front-court behind them doesn’t help the young guards either.
There you have it Lakers fans. Your back-court might not be as much of a train-wreck as you might think. Though unproven and in need of veteran leadership, these young guards might turn into something special in the years to come.
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