The Los Angeles Lakers beat one of the few remaining undefeated teams in the NBA on Wednesday night with Luke Walton's squad coming out on top against the Washington Wizards in overtime. Walton chose to put his trust in his young players late in the game, and the gamble paid off.
Walton's willingness to trust the team's young players has had an impact on the team. Brandon Ingram talked about his head coach going with him and his young teammates this season at crucial moments following Wednesday's game.
“Basketball is basketball, no matter the age you are,” Ingram said. “I think he is trusting us to try to make the right plays. He has been around us for a little while where – the group that is going good he is going to keep that, so that is a good thing for coach. He definitely saw the players that he had confidence in tonight at the end of the game.”
Rookie forward Kyle Kuzma, who has already become a household name in Los Angeles, also expressed his appreciation for Walton's trust in the young players on his squad.
“Well first, coach does a great job of instilling confidence in his guys,” Kuzma said. “So for him to let us rock like that, he has been doing that pretty much all season. But we need to learn. Putting the young core in there – we are going to be in a lot of those games in the future, so I thought it was a good stepping stone.”
So far, the Lakers have split the four games they've played with Ingram, Kuzma, and other young players like Lonzo Ball playing significant minutes. The team hasn't been without their flaws up to this point with some work needing to be done defensively, but they may be starting to come together as they seem to make strides with every passing game.
The Lakers will try to keep it going on Friday as they play host to DeMar DeRozan's Toronto Raptors at the Staples Center.
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