New Laker Ramon Sessions was pretty OK in his team debut: 7 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds. This solid stat line came off a 19-minute stint off the bench.
But one important stat to look at is his +/- number for that game: +8. That number is the second highest for a Laker (after Andrew Bynum with +15).
This is very encouraging, considering that the Lakers won by 5 points, which is quite slim. Sessions demonstrated what people thought he could bring to the lumbering Lakers offense: forays to the hoop, finding the right guys (although he did have 3 turnovers), and putting pressure on the opponents guards.
It's easy to say that the Sessions pick-up is a godsend to the Lakers-- the team has been abused by spitfire point guards in the past and the inability to break down defenses with guard penetrations has caused the team some problems. But let's stop and think about it.
What the Lakers lost in Derek Fisher are the obvious intangibles: taking charges, making clutch baskets, and leadership in the locker room. These magnify one glaring thing Sessions doesn't have: Experience. It also is important to note that Sessions has yet to play in a playoff game in his young career and for a Los Angeles Lakers team that's jockeying for a Top 3 spot in the Western Conference, this could be a potential issue.
I'll tell the Laker faithful to have guarded optimism about Ramon Sessions. He's a quick fix, but I hope he'll shine in the Playoffs.
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