Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been receiving serious criticism from fans because of his offensive struggles just two games into the season. That has spurred Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel to come to his defense.
“KCP’s been one of our best defenders since training camp started,” Vogel said. “He’s got great recovery speed and containment speed and he gets his hands on a lot of balls. The numbers that we’re looking at with 41 percent tonight and only 86 points for the Jazz, he impacts that end of the floor at a high level.”
Caldwell-Pope’s defensive impact was on full display in the win over the Utah Jazz on Friday. His activity on the defensive end was instrumental in helping the Lakers limit Utah’s score to 86 points.
While defense may be his calling card, Caldwell-Pope still needs to shoot the ball better to stay on the floor and help the Lakers win games. He has missed a combined nine shot attempts in the past two games. His lone point so far has come from the free-throw line.
However, Vogel still has confidence in his young gunner. Caldwell-Pope has plenty of time and opportunity to break from his slump. Once his shot starts falling, the Lakers will become an even scarier match-up for opposing teams.
