Injuries are, unfortunately, a big part of today’s NBA game but here are five players that will be looking for a big bounce-back season in 2019-20
Injuries are, unfortunately, a part of sports and basketball is certainly no exception. We’ve seen NBA players’ careers derailed or even ended prematurely due to injury.
But today, with the advancements in medicine and sports science, it is becoming more and more common to see guys bounce back from serious injuries, often completely regaining their pre-injury form and in some cases, guys occasionally come back even better than before.
So today, we’re going to take a look at five guys that will be looking to just that next season…
*Also, if you’re interested, this is one of the topics I go into in the most recent episode of the Around the Arc podcast (listen below)!
Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans
Brandon Ingram hasn’t picked up a basketball since March after a blood clot issue ended his season early, which is a shame since he seemed to be finally finding his footing and was enjoying the best stretch of play of his young career.
His 2018-19 campaign got off to a rocky start but over time, BI really came into his own. After the all-star break (granted, he only played six games) he put up 27.8 points and 7.5 boards on 57 percent shooting from the floor and 53 percent from 3. He also got to the line eight times a game and nailed 75 percent of his attempts. Not great but certainly an improvement of his career average 66 percent.
Now with the New Orleans Pelicans, Ingram should look to pick up right where he left off in LA as he should be ready to go for training camp.
Once he makes his return, a few improvements he should look to make in his game:
- Become a more proficient 3-point shooter.
- Up his free throw accuracy to around 75 percent.
- Add some more muscle to his slender frame.
Assuming health in his fourth season, I would expect Brandon Ingram to put up around 20 points on good all-around efficiency (he always hovers around 50% from the floor). I also expect his all-around game to remain strong; maybe a little over six boards and between three and four assists.
If he can fill out his frame a little, he’ll be an even bigger positive on defense too!