Time flies for Brandon Ingram and still not a playoff campaign on the clock. After three first seasons with the Lakers, the 24-year-old looks set for a third straight year without a postseason with the Pelicans.
Even if his team has raised the bar in recent weeks, including three wins in the last four matches, New Orleans remains penultimate in its conference (6 wins – 17 losses).
Obviously, this accumulation of bad results weighs on him. “ I made a commitment with New Orleans to stay here for five years, without knowing what it was going to give ”, he delivers to NBA.com. “Of course I always want to be on the winning side. It’s always frustrating to lose, lose and lose again. But I think there is something beautiful about wanting to surpass yourself. »
The winger does not hide that the situation is sometimes ” more frustrating than anything else. But most of the time I sit down and say to myself, ‘This game is what created all the opportunities in my life. What else would I put in there? ‘ »
A handful of additional victories, no doubt, as well as a little higher personal production. Not quite recovered from his hip injury, his average has dropped from around 24 points at 47% on shots to 21 points at 43% this year. And in the absence of Zion Williamson, he receives for example more shocks.
Zion’s expected return
« The message I give them is the message I give to myself “, Brandon Ingram continues, thinking of his teammates. “The more you keep playing, the more you learn different things. So we must not be in self-frustration. You can look at the wins and losses column every day and say to yourself, ‘Damn man! It’s not going that well. ‘ But we continue to learn from each game. »
Obviously this process will be made easier with the return of Zion Williamson, who is getting closer. The MIP 2020 already predicts that his teammate will turn at between 25 and 30 points per game. Enough to snatch a place in the playoffs?
« I have no expectations ”, retorts the winger cautiously. “It all depends on our state of mind, on what we are ready to endure, on our physical health. But when he comes back, I think we can be very good. We still have a little learning to do, especially for our young people who have to get by on both sides of the field. But I think we can make progress to become a winning team. »
| Brandon Ingram | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Tirs | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2016-17 | LAL | 79 | 29 | 40.2 | 29.4 | 62.1 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 9.4 |
| 2017-18 | LAL | 59 | 34 | 47.0 | 39.0 | 68.1 | 1.0 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 16.1 |
| 2018-19 | LAL | 52 | 34 | 49.7 | 33.0 | 67.5 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 18.3 |
| 2019-20 | NOP | 62 | 34 | 46.3 | 39.1 | 85.1 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 23.8 |
| 2020-21 | NOP | 61 | 34 | 46.6 | 38.1 | 87.8 | 0.6 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 23.8 |
| 2021-22 | NOP | 16 | 35 | 43.0 | 36.5 | 83.8 | 0.9 | 5.6 | 6.4 | 4.4 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 21.4 |
| Total | 329 | 33 | 45.9 | 36.7 | 76.0 | 0.8 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 18.0 | |
