When the Los Angeles Lakers drafted Brandon Ingram with the second overall pick last year, they knew that it would take some time for the young forward to develop both physically and as a player.
After struggling a bit to begin his rookie season, Ingram showed a ton of improvement in the second half leaving Laker fans optimistic about what is to come.
He then scored 26 points in his lone Summer League game, and expectations for him going into his second season were suddenly through the roof as president of basketball operations Magic Johnson said he expects him to average 20 points per game.
Ingram struggled through a rough preseason though, averaging just 10.4 points while shooting 36.5 percent from the field and 25 percent from three-point range.
Despite the rough preseason, Ingram is still setting high expectations for himself though, via Bill Oram of the Southern California News Group:
“It’s only high expectations if you don’t believe in yourself,” Ingram said softly as he leaned against locker room door prior to Friday’s game.
After a productive offseason, confidence has not been Ingram’s problem.
“I set even higher and higher expectations for myself,” he said. “That’s why I feel like I can live up to it.”
One issue with Ingram this preseason was him forcing shots at times, as head coach Luke Walton said that he sometimes is trying to do too much.
At just 20-years-old it is unrealistic to expect Ingram to be an All-Star caliber player this season, but as long as he continues to improve then the Lakers will be pleased with what they have in him.
