If the Los Angeles Lakers hope to be remotely competitive in the West, they will need the whole team to step up and every player will need to do their part.
That includes the rookie players, who have yet to prove themselves to the fans.
If these rookies do well, they’ll be heroes to the famously fickle Los Angeles crowd.
If they come up short, they will be quite literally booed by their homecourt fans.
One of the new recruits, Cole Swider, is showing all the right moves so far.
Video of him in practice court is exactly what tired Lakers fans want to see.
In it, Swider is quick, making shots and showing his handles.
No one knows how much time on the court he will get but if this is what Swider is capable of then the Lakers might have a new sharpshooter they can rely on.
Relying On The Rookie
Swider signed with the Lakers as an undrafted free agent after attending two workouts in Los Angeles in the summer.
During the Summer League, he was one of the team’s best shooters, making half of all his three-point shots and averaging 15.4 points a game.
Impressive stats, to be sure, but will he get enough time to shine during the regular season?
We don’t know how much head coach Darvin Ham will call upon his younger players.
Obviously, the core of the team – LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook – aren’t spring chickens anymore so they will need relief.
If Swider can step up during those opportunities, he might break out like recent Lakers Austin Reaves and Talen Horton-Tucker did.
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