This is the 13th in a series of posts grading the Lakers on the 2011-12 season.
Player: Andrew Goudelock, Lakers rookie guard
How he performed: 4.4 points on 39.1% shooting from the field and a 37.3% clip from three-point range in 10.5 minutes per game in the regular season; 1.3 points on 66.7% shooting and a perfect clip from three-point range in the playoffs.
The good: After seeing Goudelock make an array of three-pointers, floaters and pull-up jumpers, Kobe Bryant approached the Lakers' rookie and assigned him a nickname. The Black Mamba called Goudelock the Mini-Mamba, a fitting name considering Goudelock's uber confidence in taking his shots. Even as the 46th pick on a veteran-laden team, Goudelock quickly cemented himself in the Lakers rotation by duplicating the strong outside shooting that made him the College of Charleston's all-time leading scorer.
After going through a few games in which he committed typical rookie mistakes and proved too trigger happy, Goudelock soon settled down and simply tapped into his skill-set naturally. Even though he lacked the size and experience to run point guard, Mike Brown chose him as the Lakers' primary backup point guard during Steve Blake's 13-game absence due to injury in January because of those strengths. That included a five-game stretch in late January and early February in which he posted double-digit scoring in four of those contests. Hence, Bryant's nickname.
Even when Goudelock faced limited playing time and an uncertain role, he always kept a positive attitude. He routinely stayed late after practice and arrived early for pre-game warmups. Goudelock constantly worked on various weaknesses in his game, including ball-handling and defense. And he maintained the high level of confidence to take open shots whenever he saw them. That's why Goudelock should feel pretty optimistic the Lakers will exercise their team option to keep him next season. He's cheap, young and provides a distinguishable need.
The bad: Everything else regarding Goudelock's game remains pretty unpolished. He's generously listed at 6-foot-3 and doesn't really have the size to defend or go one-on-one with many guards. Goudelock lacks much experience running at point guard and struggled in running the offense smoothly. He never lacked for effort defensively, but Goudelock would lose his footing on pick-and-rolls and when matched up one-on-one.
Because of those limitations, Goudelock rarely found much consistent playing time. Lakers Coach Mike Brown drastically reduced his role after the Lakers acquired Ramon Sessions before the trade deadline, since there was less of a need for point-guard production. Brown remained hesitant in featuring him late in the season and in the playoffs because his weaknesses often offset his strong shooting. Basically, Goudelock has a laundry list of things to correct when he plays in the Las Vegas Summer League next month.
Grade: B
All grades aren't created equal. In Goudelock's case, he deserves a B because he surpassed expectations relative to his draft position and current makeup of the Lakers' roster. Goudelock's strong outside shooting provided the Lakers a need that they mostly lacked from the rest of the team. His aforementioned weaknesses appear correctable. And for a team needing to get younger while also minimizing costs, the Lakers have plenty of reasons to keep him.
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