NEW YORK – Deep in the caverns of an ancient arena, Brandon Ingram went through his pregame routine while trying to block out the fact he was about to make some personal history. He focused on the music, the familiar beats that keep him company in his preparatory solitude. The rappers G Herbo and Yo Gotti helped him focus, prepare.
He had started 14 games already in his rookie season, but No. 15 was unlike the others.
“It’s different,” the soft-spoken 19-year-old rookie admitted.
This time Ingram was not filling a void created by an injury. In the 53rd game of the season, an eventual 121-107 victory over his mentor Phil Jackson’s Knicks, Coach Luke Walton instituted sweeping changes and, in the process, redirected the focus of the rest of the season to development.
High-priced offseason acquisitions Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov were out, Ingram and Tarik Black were in.
“Even though we’re happy with the way the team’s playing right now,” Walton said, “we haven’t been winning games. So it’s as good of a chance now to start some new lineups, try some new lineups together and see how it looks.”
Ingram finished with 14 points and seven rebounds after overcoming apparent nerves in the opening minutes, when he air-balled a free throw. He struggled defensively against Knicks All-Star Carmelo Anthony, who scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the first half on 8-of-12 shooting.
The rest of the Knicks were 9-of-34 in the first two quarters, paving the way for a Lakers rout.
Lou Williams led the Lakers with 22 points. Black made his fifth straight start, but first in place of Mozgov, and scored nine points to go with 10 rebounds.
Ingram’s ascent to a more prominent role also symbolized Walton’s efforts to prioritize development in the final months of the season.
It is bound to create some conflict within the franchise, however.
Deng and Mozgov signed four-year contracts with the Lakers for a combined $136 million, only to struggle mightily and, now, be benched midway through their first season.
That makes for some pricy courtside seats, even by Lakers standards.
Kupchak, a New York native, watched Monday’s victory from a suite inside the Garden.
Walton said the investment the front office made in Deng and Mozgov was a consideration in the move, but that it wouldn’t dictate his coaching.
“It comes to mind,” Walton said, “but it always comes back to what I think is best for the team. Not only right at this moment, but the future of the team. We try to make our decisions based on that, not on the salaries.”
It would be hard to find fault in the initial results. The Lakers (18-36) earned their most comfortable win in weeks, snapping a 12-game road losing streak by sticking it to the Knicks (22-31).
Deng continued to struggle, even against the Knicks’ lesser bench players. He scored seven points in 24 minutes, missed five of his six field-goal attempts. All told, it was the sort of uninspiring performance that made his hold on the starting small forward job so tenuous in the first place.
Mozgov’s night was even worse. He did not play, with Black and rookie Ivica Zubac (10 points, 7 rebounds, career-high 4 blocked shots) seeing all the time at center.
Walton said he made the decision to reshuffle the lineup after consulting with Executive Vice President Jim Buss and General Manager Mitch Kupchak in recent days.
“They said do what you think is best for the team,” Walton said. “So it was a nice conversation.”
Entering Monday’s game, Ingram had averaged 8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists, numbers that crept upward when he started. In his first 14 games as a starter, Ingram averaged 10 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
Walton said the coaching staff would continue to evaluate the lineups on a game-by-game basis, but indicated that he wanted to give the new starting unit time to develop.
“I’m not going to say it’s permanent,” he said, “but we’re going to see how it goes. If they come out and have a bad first quarter, we’re not going to just blow it all up and go to the other starting lineup to start the second half. We know they’re young and that’s part of why we’re doing it.”
Walton stressed, however, that he told Ingram and Black “it’s not the freedom to just go do whatever you want.”
Walton had said in recent weeks that he might consider changing up the starters as the team fell further out of playoff contention. Even with Monday’s win, the Lakers are half -dozen games back of the eighth seed.
“For right now, we felt like this could be a good opportunity to test that out,” he said.
More to come on this story.
Contact the writer: boram@scng.com
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