Los Angeles Lakers wing Taurean Prince has struggled offensively so far this season. Prince is shooting just 40% from the field and a career-low 27.4% from 3-point range this year, but head coach Darvin Ham is not losing confidence in the veteran.
Prince has been a starter for the Lakers since the beginning of the season but hasn’t consistently provided the floor spacing that was expected. While he had his best game in a while on Wednesday against the Dallas Mavericks, finishing with 14 points on 60% shooting, he had shot just 5-of-26 in the prior three games combined.
But Ham is not concerned with Prince figuring things out and the Lakers coach simply wants him to remain aggressive and not hesitate when he has opportunities.
“Nah, He’s a highly confident player and he plays aggressive and gives us a lot on both sides of the ball,” Ham said when if he’s concerned about Prince losing confidence. “He plays a physical brand of basketball, he’s not a one-trick pony. As you see, his shot may not be falling down, in a little bit of a rough stretch, but he’s finding other ways with his drives, getting downhill and finishing at the rim, drawing fouls.
“He’s still a great screener, great runner, people are still gonna respect him based off his history as a 3-point shooter. So just tell him to stay aggressive. Those are good looks he’s getting and don’t hesitate, keep shooting.”
Losing confidence when going through a shooting slump is the worst thing a player can do. Once players start hesitating or not wanting to shoot the ball at all, it tends to do even more damage. But thankfully for the Lakers, Prince is a veteran who has been through all of this before.
Ham knows that the Lakers need Prince to play with confidence. What he brings to the team on both sides of the court is extremely valuable and even though his shot hasn’t been falling, it’s only a matter of time before it does.
Darvin Ham believes Taurean Prince, Lakers must trust their shots will begin to fall
Perimeter shooting has been an issue as the Lakers have not consistently knocked down 3-pointers. But Ham continues to encourage Prince and the rest of the team to trust the work they’re putting in.
“I think Taurean had a rough shooting night tonight,” Ham said after the Lakers recent win over the Houston Rockets. “When he came off, I told him, ‘I’ve seen you hit those shots plenty of times, keep shooting them.’ All of the guys, we’re getting good looks. We just have to trust our work, continue to trust our work.”
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