The Los Angeles Lakers are often asked about their third guy after LeBron James and Anthony Davis and, arguably, you could say that’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Quietly, he shot a career-high of 38.5 percent from three. He rotated between starter and reserve during his 69 (Editor’s note: nice) games played this season.
KCP was one of the first familiar NBA names to commit to the Lakers during their transition from rebuilding to a legitimate contender. His signing was followed by agency mate LeBron James and eventual trade for Anthony Davis. It’s no surprise that he won over the trust of the entire organization in a relatively short stint as a Laker.
They understand how important KCP is to their success. He’s been empowered as one of their primary defenders on the wing and shooters from game to game. Head coach Frank Vogel spoke in detail about the importance of Pope in a lot of facets of the game
Frank Vogel had a lot of nice things to say about KCP pregame. pic.twitter.com/j8ABMdxTfP
— Playoff Faigen (@hmfaigen) September 20, 2020
KCP was the Lakers’ second-leading scorer in their game one win against the Nuggets with 18 points. This kind of production puts the Lakers in an advantageous position regardless of their opponent. As the Western Conference Finals continues, his performance on both sides of the ball will be one to watch. Coming up big with little contributions will lead to big things for the Lakers championship aspirations.
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