Brandon Ingram downs Sixers with clutch three-pointer
Heading into his rookie season last year, former second overall pick Brandon Ingram was often compared to perennial MVP candidate Kevin Durant, but failed to live up to those expectations on a nearly nightly basis. This year, the lanky point forward has transformed himself from a disappointing first round bust, into a rising star with limitless potential.
On Thursday night, with his team tied up at 104 with the Philadelphia 76ers, Ingram found himself wide open from beyond the arc. Instead of hesitating like he had done so many times his rookie year, the rangy forward rose up with confidence and drilled the game-winning trey to put the Los Angeles Lakers up three with .8 seconds to go.
His three-pointer before the buzzer sealed the deal against Philadelphia, but it was his assertive, intelligent decision-making throughout the contest that kept his team in the game with the rising Sixers. Ingram finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and six dimes and made himself useful on both ends of the floor.
While this wasn’t his best game of the season, the promising sophomore showcased his year one to year two progression perfectly in this highly contested battle between two of the league’s youngest teams. Whereas the rookie rendition of Ingram might’ve faded into the shadows after missing consecutive shots, second-year Ingram made his killer instinct known as he continued flash the green light on offense whenever he had the ball in his hands.
The affectionately nicknamed Iceberg Slim hasn’t just grown as a scorer, when he struggles to get himself going, he’s always able to find his teammates space for an open look with his underrated passing and playmaking abilities. Sure, he’s not going to lead the league in assists or point per game any time soon, but with each passing game, he’s on his way to validating those Kevin Durant comparison.
Los Angeles took this round against the Sixers, but they’re still clearly the inferior team. Philadelphia has established stars in rookie sensation Ben Simmons and his two-way superstar counterpart Joel Embiid.
Although Ingram stole the show in the game’s closing seconds, it was Embiid and Simmons who put on a performance to remember for the crowd in attendance at the Staples Center. Embiid embarrassed the Lakers big men with an assortment of dream shakes and swats on his way to 33 points and five blocks while Simmons was a one man wrecking crew with his own 12 points, 12 boards and 15 assists.
Both Los Angles and Philadelphia have a long way to go before the reach the upper echelon of the NBA’s power rankings, but with cornerstones like Embiid, Simmons, Ingram and Ball to build around, the future looks bright.
While we’ve yet to see what this year’s number one overall pick Markelle Fultz can do, if he can live up to the hype that made him the unanimous top choice in the 2017 draft, it’s hard to see anyone stopping the Sixers from stealing the throne. Great things are in store for Philadelphia, but for now, we’ll just have to sit back and wait patiently.
