Los Angeles Lakers: Three players that need to step it up in the preseason

2. Avery Bradley

In a pure box score and scoring sense, Avery Bradley has had a more productive preseason thus far than Danny Green. However, Bradley also has to prove a lot more than Green and he has not done that yet for the Los Angeles Lakers.

It is still early, so I would not get concerned. However, Bradley has been touted as a potential standout player for the Lakers and the last thing that the team wants to see is a Bradley that is reminiscent of his Clippers days.

He is in phenomenal shape and that does not seem to be the case. However, these games are important for Bradley as they could dictate his role off the bench early in the year. If he wants more playing time to shine, he needs to shine in the preseason.

Bradley had a 14-point game in 30 minutes played in the team’s 77-91 loss against the Brooklyn Nets, which was his best game. In the first game against the Nets, he played 20 minutes and scored just four points and in the first preseason game of the year, he scored zero in 13 minutes.

Most importantly is his three-point shooting. He has never been an elite three-point shooter but he is above-average and needs to be just that if he wants a big role alongside LeBron James.

Bradley is 0-7 from beyond the arc through three games. It is a small sample size, sure, but he still needs to improve before that small sample size turns into a concerning sample size.