After the trade deadline, the focus of discussion about the Lakers was almost all about the three new signings, Russell, Vanderbilt and Beasley. Of course, in addition, there are many people discussing whether the Lakers can squeeze into the playoffs, how many opportunities they have this season, and people such as Wilson and Beverley who left the Lakers have also received certain blessings. Back to the Lakers themselves, after the trade, the Lakers' rotation changed dramatically, and against the Pelicans, three key new signings joined hands to sit on the starting lineup, which gave the Lakers roster a new look. Join the Lakers with a base salary, squeeze out Anthony's position, learn at an amazing pace, and you deserve to be stayed.
Against the Pelicans, you can see the Lakers' rotation for the rest of the schedule, James and thick eyebrows partner Vanderbilt and two shooters on the outside, Beasley and Russell, this set of starters will not surprisingly change. In terms of the bench, Rivers, Bamba, Hachimura, Troy Brown and Schroder have already secured the rotation, and Lonnie Walker and Gabriel, two very important role players in the Lakers early in the season, have gradually fallen out of the rotation. Among them, Walker was even the starting guard of the Lakers at the beginning of the season, he played 42 games, starting 32 games, but now he has completely fallen out of the rotation. In the current Lakers' rotation, Troy Brown is actually a more surprising member.
Brown Jr. is very low-key, which has led to the lack of attention he has received this season, and the only thing he has attracted the most attention is his actions when he joined the Lakers. At that time, although Brown Jr. only signed a base-salary contract with the Lakers, he decisively chose the No. 7 jersey, which originally belonged to Anthony, which also made many Lakers fans wonder, the joining of Brown Jr. directly announced that Anthony would not return? Now, Brown Jr. has shown with practical actions that he is indeed a relatively stable signing for the Lakers, although he does not shine like other role players, but Brown Jr.'s attack and defense have improved greatly compared to the past, he has met the expectations of the Lakers, and now he has become the most important member of the Lakers' rotation.
This season, Brown Jr. has averaged 24 minutes of playing time with the Lakers, you know, he averaged only 15 minutes per game with the Bulls, averaging only 4.3 points per game, and in the playoffs, Brown Jr.'s playing time has been reduced to 12 minutes, and his shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentage are only 29.4% and 18.2%. With such an inefficient player, how can he sit on the Lakers' rotation? Obviously, Brown Jr.'s progress this season has far exceeded the Lakers' expectations. On the offensive end, Brown Jr. is more comfortable with the 3D role, except for the open cut, which is the three-pointer, and occasionally some mid-range. His shots and confrontations are his most improved skills this season.
Outside the three-point line, Brown Jr. shot 37 percent from three-point range from the bottom corner, on par with the league average. He shot 40.5 percent from three-point range from the right 45 degrees and 44.4 percent from three-point range at the top of the arc, both of which exceeded the league average. In addition to shooting faster and more stable three-point shots, Brown Jr. can also achieve a 35% shooting percentage in the face of certain defensive interference, and his improved shooting percentage after the basket confrontation is very amazing. During the Bulls days, Brown Jr. shot just 51 percent from the basket, lower than the league's 96 percent of players in the same position. This season, he's shot 68 percent from the basket, an insane 17 percentage point, more than 60 percent of players in the same position.
If you think Brown Jr. can get into the rotation on offense, you're wrong. Brown Jr., who averaged 7.1 points per game, why is his offense better than Walker, who once averaged 17.8 points per game? Obviously, Brown's improvement on the defensive end is the main thing. Against the Blazers, Brown Jr. was assigned to defend Simmons and Lillard, and we can clearly see that after Beverley's departure, Brown Jr. gained more trust in the outside defense. In addition, against the Pelicans, Brown Jr. mainly went up to defend Ingram in the bench, Ingram blocked and misplaced several times, and Brown Jr.'s defense was very active and in place.
Brown Jr.'s learning ability is excellent, he learned how to be a good 3D player, and at the same time learned how to influence opponents with defense around Beverley and Vanderbilt. Some rounds that don't have to fight, Brown Jr. will also try to interfere with the opponent, maybe 10 rounds, Brown Jr. can succeed in one round, but rather than doing nothing, these details can give the Lakers an advantage in key games. Brown's biggest problem at the moment is that he is not physically strong, his official height is 2.01 meters, but the actual height is only 1.98 meters, which also limits his defense. However, if only a contract of about 5 million is needed, the Lakers should still consider keeping him as much as possible.