Injuries to Lonzo Ball and others at his position forced Tyler Ennis into a bigger role in what was his first full season with the Lakers.
He ended up playing 54 games (11 starts), and the fourth-year point guard averaged 4.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists, becoming a steady presence in Luke Walton’s rotation.
In 12.6 minutes per night, Ennis shot 42.0 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from three-point range. However, in a small sample size, the Canadian-born guard excelled in cutting to the basket, converting in 10 of 11 attempts.
Ennis scored a career-high 22 points against the Utah Jazz on April 8th, adding five rebounds and a pair of assists.
He finished the season strong by averaging 10.0 points, 4.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 24.1 minutes in seven games in April.
Below is a summary of his exit interview:
-On his season: “It was a fun year. We grew as a team. With so many young players we showed more promise than last year, and more maturity than people expected”.
-On learning to play more freely toward the end of the season: “When (Isaiah Thomas) came, seeing how he approached it with that next game mentality…I adopted that. Playing more off my feel than thinking about it, and that’s how I found success”.
-On trying to make a name for himself without playing selfishly: “That’s tough. Once you’re out of the playoff race, not in our team, but guys play for stats. As a point guard, playing the right way is what gets me noticed… I was going to play the right way and play hard. That’s why we were able to beat the Spurs and play the Rockets hard. Whether in practice or in games, we played hard”.