Gabe Vincent was expected to be a missing piece to the puzzle for the Los Angeles Lakers as a tough-minded, point-of-attack defender who could knock down 3-pointers. However, with him only playing 11 games in the regular season due to a knee issue, his offensive game struggled tremendously due to not establishing any kind of rhythm.
However, Vincent showed last year with the Miami Heat that when the playoffs come around, he can certainly elevate his level of play. That was shown on Tuesday in a Play-In Tournament matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans with Vincent providing some scoring punch off the bench with nine points, drilling two 3-pointers on four attempts.
It was a performance that the Lakers needed, providing energy on both sides of the ball, especially without Jarred Vanderbilt. Despite shooting 30.6% from the field and 10.7% from 3 on the season, Vincent admits that he is feeling better with each game he plays, as seen on Spectrum SportsNet:
“Each game, I feel better, naturally. I think there’s no replacing reps and I think that’s something I missed most this year, whether it’s reps in practice or just getting shots up or a rhythm type thing. But each game, I feel better naturally and it’s always better when you get a win.”
The depth was a driving point for this Lakers team heading into this season and that was on display against the Pelicans with both LeBron James and Anthony Davis struggling offensively. Vincent spoke about how huge it was for other guys to contribute to pulling out a gutsy win:
“It’s huge. You get tested a number of ways throughout the season and I think we’ve had our others, so to speak, step up a number of times in a number of ways this year. But at a time like this in a game that really matters, for us as we move forward towards this postseason, I think it was huge. I think it was huge for us to show that we can handle the adversity and a lot of people can step up to get a good win as a team.”
Vincent is getting a rematch with the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the first round and he is going to get a fair share of guarding Jamal Murray. But to see him have his best game of the season in a huge Play-In game bodes well for being a positive contributor in a shortened postseason rotation.
Gabe Vincent: Lakers control own destiny
This was a big week for the Lakers as they battled for seeding, trying to get in the seventh or eighth seed specifically. Vincent talked about the team controlling its destiny and L.A. did so by winning enough games to get the No. 7 seed.
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