Mike Brown intent to use Ramon Sessions as a backup to Steve Blake; for now at least – NBA Update
Upon being traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers this Thursday, Ramon Sessions said that playing in purple and gold was a dream come true, but it seems that there will be some time before the new recruit will get into the Lakers starting line-up.
On Friday night, Mike Brown, the Lakers coach started Steve Blake ahead of Sessions in the game against Minnesota Timberwolves. Los Angeles won the game by a slender 97-92 margin. Blake remained scoreless in 29 minutes on court and 6 assists was all he could muster on the night. In contrast, Sessions played for just 19 minutes, collecting 7 points and 5 assists
Blake however is set to retain the starting spot, at least for a while as the Lakers plan on easing Sessions into the vacancy left by Derek Fisher’s departure. Head coach Mike Brown made it clear after the teams light practice on Saturday.
"I don't want to guarantee anything or put anything in stone because I don't know if it's healthy to do that all the time, it’s definitely Steve's job for the foreseeable future and it might be his job for the rest of the year. I don't know."
The same pattern followed in the game against the Utah Jazz on Sunday and even though, Blake has been struggling, the Lakers might not be willing to gamble on Sessions just yet. Brown had said earlier that he does not fore see Blake as a starter for a long stretch, but Session has yet to gel in with the Lakers style of play and putting him in too early may back fire.
Ramon has been spending extra training hours with the assistant coaches Chuck Person and John Kuester as he has a lot of catching up to do in the midst of season. Session had been playing as the first change to Kyrie Irving at the Cleveland Cavaliers and is averaging 10.5 points, 5.2 assists along with 3.1 rebounds per game in nearly 22 minutes this season.
These numbers will certainly go up once he gets more minutes, but to do that, Session has to learn quickly and also find a way to shed off the huge baggage of being the man, who replaced Derek Fisher.
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