The Los Angeles Lakers lost another game to the Houston Rockets on Sunday night as they continue their downward spiral towards one of the worst records in the league. The team showed little life and was clearly outmatched, although they did make a run towards the end that forced the Rockets to put their starters back in the game. It is clear that the organization is hoping to give more time to the younger players as they look towards the future, and Ryan Kelly is one who has seen an increase in his minutes.
However, giving him the starting nod at small forward is not the right move.
Kelly showed some promise late last season, although he did struggle for most of the year. This season, he has had to deal with injuries, but has finally found his way back onto the court. He has shown some potential as a stretch-four in the league, but has struggled to consistently produce. Forcing him to play out of position highlights his weaknesses even more, as evidenced by his poor performance on Sunday night.
Kelly is able to use his length and height to match up with some power forwards, but is often overmatched, even against the second unit. He does not possess ideal quickness or athleticism, which makes it even more confusing that the team is now putting him at small forward. The team put him there in spots last season as well, but he greatly struggled to keep up with the wing players and they would often have to send extra help his way.
The Lakers are right to give Kelly consistent playing time to see if he can compete with other talented players, but it is hard to justify them giving him those minutes at the small forward position. He cannot guard the perimeter players, and does not do enough on offense to offset his defensive deficiencies. The Lakers need to consider giving those starting minutes to someone else, and perhaps have Kelly come off the bench.
It appears as though brothers Markieff and Marcus Morris of the Phoenix Suns do more than just play basketball together. Read More
The results are in for the selections of the 2015 Rising Stars Challenge and there it is a solid list of young players. However, there was one player in Boston who was overlooked. Read More
In his official blog, Metta World Peace discusses what his Super Bowl halftime show would look like. Read More
The NBA sees players turn into stars every season. Here are 10 that are on their way this season. Read More
Toronto Raptors get first convincing win since Dec. 28 by hitting a season high 17 three pointers. Read More
The Atlanta Hawks have been one of the great surprises of this NBA season and have won 17 games in a row, but none of that will matter come April and the playoffs. Read More
The Boston Celtics dropped the final game on their six-game road trip to the Timberwolves. Even with the loss, Marcus Smart had an impressive stretch of playmaking and made a case for a starting role. Read More
Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving's career high is a jumping board for Cleveland to go on a serious run. Read More
If all goes as planned, the trio of rookies who are seeing a lot of time as starters this season for the 76ers will be backups down the line and their effort now bodes well for the future. Read More
While there isn’t one clear favorite to win the NBA title so far this season, several teams are capable of making a run and winning the championship. Read More
The Boston Celtics are exceeding expectations and are currently three games out of the playoffs. Here are their midseason grades. Read More
Disappointment is born from excessive expectation. Who has failed to meet expectations thus far? Read here to find out. Read More