Caldwell-Pope picks up scoring slack
Kentavious CaldwellPope had been challenged by Lakers coach Frank Vogel to come out of his recent doldrums and become more of an offensive force.
And with the Lakers more short-handed than usual Thursday night in Miami, it was imperative for Caldwell-Pope to break from his listless spell.
On a night when the Lakers lost 110-104 to the Heat with Kyle Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker joining LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the sideline, Caldwell-Pope’s offense came out of hibernation.
He actually exceeded the goal Vogel had in mind, the shooting guard finishing with a season-high 28 points.
“He’s answering the bell. I’m asking him to be super aggressive, looking to score,” Vogel said on a videoconference after the game. “I actually literally asked him to score 25 tonight. Until that last three, he had exactly 25 points and ended up with 28.
We want him to be that aggressive and again, this could be one of those silverlining things where we get more out of him offensively when those guys come back, when he gets in this kind of rhythm.”
The Lakers lost Kuzma for the game because of a calf strain and Horton-Tucker because of his one-game suspension for leaving the bench Tuesday during an altercation between the Lakers and Toronto Raptors.
That meant many of the Lakers’ top scorers were not in action, so someone had to step into the void. That could be the case again against Brooklyn on Saturday with Kuzma, Alex Caruso (knee) and Marc Gasol (hamstring) listed as questionable on the injury report.
With Vogel pushing him, Caldwell-Pope stepped up his game, shooting 11 for 20 from the field and six for 11 from three-point range. He also had four rebounds.
“It’s helped my game a lot. Like, coach just put me in opportunities to score the ball and to get shots up and I’m just taking full advantage of it,” Caldwell-Pope said on a videoconference. “Being aggressive like he said, trying to stay aggressive in every moment that I have the ball and just play, not worry about anything.”
Caldwell-Pope was a key contributor to the Lakers’ championship run and this season has made threepointers at a career-best clip. But as the season progressed, his game began to slide into the abyss.
In 13 games last month, he averaged 7.1 points and shot 34.9% from the field, 34.1% from three-point range.
But Caldwell-Pope has become a changed player this month. He’s averaging 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 44% from the field and a sizzling 53.3% from three-point range.
“Just staying aggressive, hunting shots,” Caldwell-Pope said. “And playing defense like I always do, just to get my motor going, get out in transition where I’m best at, get some easy layups.
Maybe transition threes here and there. But just playing my game and being aggressive with it.”
New Lakers center Andre Drummond and Caldwell-Pope were teammates for four years with the Detroit Pistons. Drummond has been impressed with Caldwell-Pope’s maturation over the years.
“Defensively, still an incredible defender,” Drummond said during a videoconference after the game Thursday. “Shooting-wise has gotten so much better. Just his confidence off the dribble has been incredible for us. So tonight was a great game for him. Just sucks that we didn’t win the game.”
LAKERS TONIGHT AT BROOKLYN
When: 5:30
On the air: TV: Ch. 7; Radio: 710, 1330
Update: The Nets have the best record in the Eastern Conference (36-16) and the third-best in the NBA. They have won 22 of their last 26 games.