“He Did What?!”: Skal Labissiere is making his mark on the Kings

Skal Labissiere is playing with the aggression many thought was missing during his time at Kentucky.

I am a Skal Labissiere apologist. He did not have a great season during his one-and-done career at Kentucky, but he was asked to play outside of his skill set. Success comes when you play to your strengths. Just because someone is great at fixing cars doesn’t make them a useful woodworker, you know what I mean? No? Let’s move on.

Again with the pitiful puns, Sacramento?  They save their most embarrassing wordplay for the best plays from former Cats.

https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/836431230736326656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Exskallent! I’m in.

Actually, no. I’m not in. This one is bad – worse than Boogie Clutchins.

Anyway, I love seeing Labissiere getting his minutes on a bad team. For many NBA rookies, improvement comes with opportunity, and there has been plenty to go around since the team traded DeMarcus Cousins at the end of All-Star Weekend.

Labissiere has averaged 16.5 minutes per game since the trade. That may not sound like a lot, but prior to All-Star Weekend, the rookie power forward had only checked into a game six times all year. Labissiere and Willie Cauley-Stein will both enjoy big upticks in playing time now, and they will develop sooner as a result.

Randle with the handles

Julius Randle is not winning a lot of games with the Lakers, but man, they are fun.

Um, que? Shout out Los Lakers for holding down the Spanish-speaking community.

All I know is that when you see a big run the floor and charge into his own basket, it transcends language barriers. It’s a thing of beauty. It brings the world together, truly.

Rookie Head Coach Luke Walton has done a great job at letting this young Lakers squad play loose. This team is full of play makers, so Walton lets his team improvise within a system that plays to its abilities. Remember, like fixing cars and woodworking? No? Let’s move on.

Randle’s play has improved due to the open floor playing style. He leads the team with 8.4 rebounds per game while shooting 48.9% from the field. The Lakers are at the beginning of a long road to relevancy, but if they keep their young core together, Randle could become a major contributor in the future.

John Wall’s ultimate “He Did What?!” moment

If I’m honest, it’s not often I actually exclaim the title of this column. But there are not many passes that end up like the one John Wall threw to Marcin Gortat this week.

That is hilarious, and that is the only way to describe it.

I was watching this game, but missed it in real time. I honestly don’t know what I would have done if I saw it live. That is more incredible than any great pass Wall has made this season. I like to think Wall just wanted Gortat to be traded and is still upset that he wasn’t. That would be an amazing explanation.

Next: Kentucky's 2016 Regular Season Player Report Cards

All of that is doubtful, but all you can do is dream in this world. And when Gortat gets nailed in the face by a laser quick pass, it’s like dreams really do come true.

"‘He Did What?!’ is a weekly column recapping the most wild NBA moments of the week from former Kentucky Wildcats. Don’t be shy; if you catch a Wildcat making a great play, send your tips to Jonathan Coffman at @jcoffmanky on Twitter."