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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreInstead of locking down the 5th seed and fine tuning the small ball lineup with AD at the five that won the championship last year, the Lakers are foolishly chasing a pipe dream Big 3 of James, Davis, and Drummond.
Frankly, the Lakers would be hard pressed to find a poorer option to be the third member of a Big 3 with LeBron James and Anthony Davis than Andre Drummond, a center whose mental and physical tool sets simply don’t fit. That Frank Vogel’s first look at a James, Davis, and Drummond Big 3 ended with a costly and disappointing 110–106 loss at Staples Center to a Kings team with the worst defensive rating in the league was not a big surprise.
Anybody who watched Drummond play in his 11 games with the Lakers before last night could have easily have predicted Andre would post empty stats and fail to generate any winning chemistry with LeBron and Anthony. While Drummond is talented, there’s no chance he‘ll be able to learn how to win in time to help the Lakers repeat as NBA champions after spending 8 years acquiring poor habits and failing to develop his game on losing teams.
Offensively, Drummond is an inefficient low post scorer and poor lob threat whose constant presence in the paint makes it easy for teams to build a wall and prevent James and Davis from penetrating and getting to the rim. Defensively, he’s not the shot blocker or rim protector McGee or Howard were and is vulnerable like them to becoming unplayable in the trapping, switching, rotating defense the Lakers used to win the championship.
While Vogel praised the potential of the James, Davis, and Drummond Big 3, the eye test and analytics painted a different picture: 17 minutes with a subpar 97.3 offensive rating, 105.4 defensive rating, and -8.1 net rating. While Drummond scored 17 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, he ended up with a -3.0 plus/minus for game, including a key stretch late in the fourth quarter where a 3 point Lakers’ lead turned into a critical 2 point deficit.
The danger of the Lakers foolishly chasing a pipe dream Big 3 of James, Davis, and Drummond is they waste valuable time experimenting with a big lineup when they should be honing their small ball lineups for the playoffs. Andre Drummond is not going to replace Anthony Davis as the Lakers’ best center and no big lineup is going to replace the proven small ball lineups with AD at the five that defined the Lakers’ championship run last year.
It was frustrating watching Vogel ignore the great play from Marc Gasol (+12 plus/minus) at center in the first half and then stubbornly only play centers Drummond (-3 plus/minus) and Harrell (-11 plus/minus) in the second half. In the 9 games left, the Lakers need to lock up 5th seed in the West, re-integrate LeBron and AD, and figure out their playoff lineups and rotations. The last thing they should be doing is chasing a pipe dream Big 3 lineup.
The Lakers are likely to get a wake up call when they play the Nuggets and Clippers next week. If there is any hope a James, Davis, and Drummond Big 3 can actually work, Vogel is going to have to see it in those two games. Otherwise, the Lakers will have no option other than to look to reprise their championship run of last season by going small with Anthony Davis starting and closing games at the five and hope they can recapture that magic.
Should the James, Davis, and Drummond Big 3 crash and burn against the Nuggets and Clippers, the Lakers would still have six regular season games to switch to small ball lineups with Davis and Gasol playing as stretch fives. That should still be enough time for Vogel and his staff to re-commit to playing small ball, reexamine their starting and closing lineups, and narrow their rotations from 10–11 to 8–9 players for the upcoming playoffs.
Rooting for anybody on the Lakers to fail has never been an option for me but the best thing for the Lakers vs. the Nuggets and Clippers might be to find chasing a James, Davis, and Drummond Big 3 was a foolish pipe dream.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreThe plan in the playoffs is for the Lakers to start Andre Drummond at the five so Anthony Davis can start at the four. Unfortunately, that plan is likely to crash and burn early and the Lakers likely to copy last year and go small.
There are many reasons why the Lakers going big with Andre Drummond at the five is not going to work and why going small with Anthony Davis at the five is the smart move, especially since it won the championship last year. Davis proved in the last playoffs he was willing to play the five when needed despite preferring to play the four. He understands he will again have to play the five close to half the time for the Lakers to repeat as NBA champs.
In the end, Vogel’s going to give the Go Big option a short leash and won’t hesitate to quickly and decisively turn to the Go Small option with AD at the five that won the championship last year if the Drummond experiment fails. Vogel already reverted to closing with AD at the five as the Lakers tried to comeback from down 20 against the Washington Wizards. Regardless of who starts at center, the Lakers are likely to close games with AD at the five.
With LeBron James possible returning tonight against the Kings at Staples Center, the Lakers will have only 10 games to figure out whether to go big or small in the playoffs. Here are five reasons why they should go small:
1. Optimizes Superstars James and Davis
The two players who took greatest advantage of the Lakers playing small in the playoffs to elevate their games were their superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who dramatically improved their shooting and defense.
During the 2019–20 regular season, LeBron averaged 25.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 25.3 minutes per game, shooting 49.3% from the field, 34.8% from three, and 69.3% from the line. Playing small ball during the playoffs, James averaged 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.9 blocks in 36.6 minutes per game, shooting 56.0% from the field, 37.0% from three, and 72.0% from the line.
Meanwhile, Anthony Davis averaged 26.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.3 blocks in 34.4 minutes per game, shooting 50.3% from the field, 33.0% from three, and 84.6% from the line for the regular season. Playing mostly center in the playoffs, Anthony averaged 27.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.4 blocks in 36.6 minutes per game, shooting 57.1% from the field, 38.3% from three, and 83.2% from the line.
Spreading the floor with five 3-point shooters on offense and locking down opponents with five mobile and athletic defenders freed LeBron James and Anthony Davis to showcase their best superstar versions in the playoffs.
2. Opens Lanes for Schroder and Horton-Tucker
Dennis Schroder and Talen Horton Tucker are the two Lakers whose offensive games rely on their ability to get to the rim, something that is much easier when the Lakers spread the floor with small ball lineups.
Playing small ball is critical to optimizing Schroder’s and Horton-Tucker’s aggressive play as the only time they struggle in games is when opposing defenses pack the paint with multiple defenders or an elite rim protector. Teams know both players thrive attacking the paint and have learned the best way to slow them down is to take away their lanes to get to the rim and force them to shoot from the perimeter rather than from in the paint.
Talen Horton-Tucker and Dennis Schroder led all Lakers guards with 2.4 makes out of 4.1 and 4.5 shot attempts per game within 5 feet of basket. No other Laker guard even took as many as 2.0 shots per game at that range. Opposing teams know packing the paint with multiple defenders and rim protectors is the blueprint for forcing the Lakers to become a jump shooting team. Playing small ball opens up the rim for Dennis and Talen.
Dennis Schroder and Talen Horton-Tucker are both point guards whose playmaking ability in the playoffs will hinge heavily on the Lakers playing small ball so they’ll have lanes to attack the basket to score and assist.
3. Puts Additional 3-Point Shooters in game
One big advantages of the Lakers playing small ball with Anthony Davis at the five is it gives them the opportunity to put five 3-point shooters on the court and reverse what has been a negative 3-point differential this season.
During the regular season last year, the Lakers averaged 11.0 made threes out of 31.6 attempts per game, both of which ranked 23rd in the league. Their 34.9% shooting percentage from three was only 21st in the league. Playing more small ball in the playoffs, the Lakers raised their made threes to 12.1 per game and attempted threes to 34.2 per game, both of which ranked 11th, and shot 35,4% from three, which ranked 12th in the league.
This year during the regular season, the Lakers averaged 11.1 made threes, 24th in the league, out of 31.5 attempts per game, 23rd in the league. Their 35.3% shooting percentage from three was ranked only 22nd in the league. That leaves the Lakers in the same position as they were last year when they needed to take and make more threes in the playoffs to win. Fortunately, playing small ball will give them more 3-point shooters to do that.
Unfortunately, this year’s playoff opponents — Nuggets, Jazz, Clippers, and Nets — are higher volume 3-point shooting teams than last year’s, which means the Lakers will need to play more small ball if they want to win.
4. Intelligently Narrows Rotations for Playoffs
Playing small ball allows the Lakers to intelligently narrow their usual 10–11 man regular season rotation down to a tighter and more reasonable 9–10 man rotation for the playoffs similar to what happened last postseason.
Right now, Drummond, Gasol, and Harrell combined average almost 70 minutes per game at center, which is more than the 48 minutes available at center in a game not even factoring in Anthony Davis’ center minutes. Realistically, there is no way the Lakers can keep three players who can only play the center position and narrow their playoff rotation to 8–9 players. Doing so would require them benching valuable guards and wings.
Playing Davis half of his projected 36 minutes per game at center would still leave 30 minutes of playing time at center for Drummond, Gasol, and Harrell, which should be distributed among the three based on matchups. The result would be two of the three centers would be included in the Lakers 9–10 player rotations for the playoffs while one of the three would get an automatic Did Not Play Coach’s Decision each game due to matchups.
Playing small ball would then enable the Lakers to narrow their rotation to 9–10 players, including James, Davis, Schroder, Caldwell-Pope, Kuzma, Caruso, Morris, Horton-Tucker, and two of Drummond, Gasol, or Harrell.
5. Because Our ‘Small Ball’ is Not Really ‘Small’
Categorizing the Lakers’ lineups with Anthony Davis at the five as ‘small ball’ lineups is a misnomer. While the AD at the five lineups are more skilled, they are anything but small when it comes to size or length.
A Lakers’ small ball lineup of 6′ 3,” 170 lb Dennis Schroder, 6′ 5,’ 204 lb Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 6′ 9,’ 250 lb LeBron James, 6′ 9,” 245 lb Markieff Morris, and 6′ 10,” 253 lb Anthony Davis can bang and hang with anybody. The Lakers also have the versatility to include 6′ 10,” 221 lb Kyle Kuzma, 6′ 4,” 234 lb Talen Horton-Tucker, or 6′ 4,” 186 lb Alex Caruso as part of their small ball lineup depending on specific game needs or matchups.
Superstars Anthony Davis and LeBron James were the dynamic duo that anchored the Lakers’ lock down small ball defense, two unique players who can physically defend all five positions and at all three levels on the court. Davis was the rim protector and James the ‘middle linebacker’ directing the Lakers’ trapping, switching, and rotating defense. Unlike other superstars, both James and Davis were able and willing to defend other teams’ stars.
Looking ahead at the teams the Lakers will likely meet in the playoffs, small ball lineups with Anthony Davis at the five will have more than enough size and length to matchup opponents at both ends of the court.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreIs there anybody out there who still believes the Los Angeles Lakers are going to repeat as NBA champions this season with Andre Drummond, Marc Gasol, or Montrezl Harrell starting and closing games at center?
The bad news is the grand plan to upgrade the center position so Anthony Davis could play his preferred power forward position full time has been a failure and should force the Lakers to rethink their playoff plans at center. The good news is the Lakers still have the best two-way center in the NBA in 28-year old 6′ 10,” 253 lb Anthony Davis who can dominate offensively and defensively in the paint, from midrange, or beyond the 3-point line.
It’s time for the Lakers to admit they need Anthony Davis to repeat his role from last year’s playoffs and devote half of his 36 minutes per game playing center rather than relying on Drummond, Gasol, and Harrell to play the five. The plan could have worked if the Lakers had traded for an elite center like Myles Turner, Chris Boucher, or Christian Wood last offseason but not with Rent-a-Centers like Andre Drummond, Marc Gasol, or Montrezl Harrell.
Sticking with the Drummond and Harrell center rotation in the playoffs would be a mistake. Both pack the paint and make it difficult for LeBron and AD to get to the rim. Both are subpar shot blockers and poor rim protectors. Frank Vogel needs to realize starting Andre Drummond vs. the Nugget’s Nikola Jokic in the first round or the Jazz’ Rudy Gobert in the second round of the playoffs would be playing right into the Denver’s and Utah’s hands.
Anthony Davis is the only center the Lakers have who can match up with Nikola Jokic and play Rudy Gobert off the court by pulling him out of the paint. The Lakers should start and finish playoff games with AD at center. The Lakers are better at both ends with Anthony Davis at the five as they proved in last year’s playoffs with their 5-out sets opening up the floor on offense and their trapping and rotating defense suffocating offenses.
Frank Vogel and the Lakers know the recipe for the Lakers winning in the playoffs is starting and closing with Anthony Davis at center. Like last year, the Lakers need to plan on AD playing at least half of his minutes at the five. Assuming he plays 36 minutes per game like last playoffs, Davis could play center 18 minutes per game or the first and last 4 to 5 minutes of each half, leaving the remaining 30 minutes to be split between the other centers.
Starting and closing games with a ‘small ball’ lineup of Davis, Morris, James, Caldwell-Pope, and Schroder allows the Lakers to create space by spreading the floor on offense and trap, switch and rotate on defense like last year. One of the problems with the 3-headed center the Lakers used this season to limit Davis from having to play big minutes at the five is he’s only played 7 minutes per game at center, which could hurt us in the playoffs.
While it’s easy to understand why the Lakers would like to minimize AD’s minutes at the five, Vogel also needs to realize that Drummond, Gasol, and Harrell are not going to be favorable match ups in the playoffs this year. Davis had no problem playing half his minutes at center last playoffs. He should be well rested and ready to do the same in this year. It would be a huge mistake for the Lakers to try to rely on anybody but Davis at center.
Heading into the playoffs, the Lakers need to start and close halves and games with their best center. If AD plays 18 of his 36 minutes per game at center, there would still be 30 minutes for Drummond, Gasol, and Harrell. The Lakers should spend valuable minutes these last 11 games playing small ball lineups with Davis at the five and Morris or even James at the four to get ready for the playoffs rather than devoting that time to the Rent-a-Centers.
While I expect Vogel to continue to try and start games with Drummond and to play all three centers in the playoffs, I expect to see a repeat of last year’s playoffs when McGee and Harrell became unplayable and were benched. Hopefully, Frank will be as decisive and proactive as he was in last year’s playoffs and he’ll make similar moves for Anthony Davis to take over the center position both as the starter and closer once we’re in the playoffs.
The path to this year’s NBA championship is going to be one of the toughest in years and the Lakers will need to be better than last year to repeat. The only way they can do that is to prioritize Anthony Davis at the five.
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I’m seriously worried the Lakers are going to try to rely on Andre Drummond and Montrezl Harrell to play big minutes at center so Anthony Davis can play his preferred power forward position.
I believe that could be the kind of overthinking that could cost the Lakers a chance to repeat as champions. We play our best defense when we go small with AD at the five and four players who can trap, switch, and rotate rapidly to suffocate offenses. That is something have not shown we can do with Drummond, Gasol, or Harrell in the lineup. That’s why I believe we have to follow the blueprint we did last year with AD playing half his 36 minutes per game at the five.
If you think Andre, Marc, or Trezz can be part of a lockdown championship defense, please post some clips showing that because I cannot remember a single instance when they were able to play the kind of smothering defense the Lakers ‘small ball’ lineup did last year to win the championship. Drummond and Harrell are never in the right position defensively, don’t have the timing and anticipation to block many shots, and clog up the paint on offense to make it hard for LeBron, AD, Dennis, or THT to have space to get to the rim. Gasol is still the best option because he at least can pass and shoot the 3 on offense. Just too old, slow, and flat footed on D.
If AD plays 50% of his minutes at the five, we win championship. If he doesn’t, we’re lose. It really is that simple. I don’t care what Frank does with centers during the regular season but he better not screw with the winning formula we had last year and try to win with Drummond, Gasol, and Harrell because that’s not going to fly. Bench the Rent-a-Centers and start and close with AD.
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I don’t disagree that AD is a ‘great’ player but at 28 you cannot claim he is in the class of Kareem, Wilt, or Shaq as a legendary center and a big part of the reason why is he rarely plays the center position. But as usual, you miss the point of the article, which is can AD be considered a ‘great’ center when he rarely plays it? You can spin the question any way you want but you have to play center to be considered a great center.
I also love how all of the naysayers ignore the reality that AD has played center only 7% of the time by intent of Frank Vogel, Rob Pelinka, and the Lakers. Give me all your trust in Rob and trust in Frank bullshit but it won’t change the reality that we now have three centers who averaged almost 70 minutes at the five this season. I sure hope Frank ends up playing AD 40 to 50% of the time in the playoffs like last year but anybody who thinks that’s a sure thing is naïve and ignoring all the signs that say AD may only play minimal minutes at the five. I mean it’s not like Rob and Frank have always been right and not playing AD more at center could be a fatal mistake in these playoffs.
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He doesn’t see himself as a center. That’s why the debate pretty much ends there. Like many 4’s in the NBA he is willing, when called upon, to chip in at the 5. We had no player like Trezz last season, someone who could impact the game more offensively than defensively. He’s also able to defend small ball-style centers himself without playing the small ball game on offense.
Frame this point as “Will Anthony Davis play too much center to take him off the list of the All Time great power forwards” and you’re looking at this through the correct lens.
The playoffs will be different than the regular season. These games are practice sessions that count in the standings. They have been that all season, just because we’re floundering in the standings without the engine that drives our car doesn’t mean the team isn’t still figuring out all the new guys. Even from last offseason (can’t say summer, lol).
I look at the center situation a lot differently than last season. Last season we brought in the ultimate role-center in McGee (happy to play his 15 minutes, at least publicly and supportive of the team) and Dwight “nobody wants me…wow” Howard. They brought very similar skill sets and athletic talent.
This season we have three very different players that do very different things. Plus Davis. So in many ways I think we’re stronger at center than we were last year. Gasol can play in a five-out line up on offense and hold his own on D. Drummond is as traditional of an NBA center as they come with all its pros and cons. Trezz is a 4/5 combo player who could actually play alongside any of the three players listed as centers or as a center himself. There are more options this season than in last.
In terms of why worry about the banging, look no further than the two plus months Davis just missed for the beating his body has taken as a pro hoops player for the last year and a half. I think Frank is right: we will need all three to attain our goals. I do not think he means all three playing a lot of minutes in every series or game. I think he is indicating that what he did last year, which was based on matchups, will be done again this season.
So, in short, I guess this response is really just along-winded “I trust Rob and Frank” BS post, lol.
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The only issue is how many losses will it take before Frank makes the necessary moves? Hopefully, it will be a series of close games that we pulled off at the end that showed AD needs to play the five.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreAnthony Davis’ desire to play power forward instead of center is the only thing that could prevent him from joining Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain and becoming the next great Lakers’ center.
Anthony Davis is a enigma in that he’s a basketball player who does not want to play center, the position at which he’s arguably the best at in the world. He believes playing power forward is better for his game and career. The truth is center is Davis’ best position and more that he plays center, the better the Lakers become as a team. AD always said he would play center when needed and did so for 50% of his minutes in last year’s playoffs.
Since signing Davis, the Lakers have worked hard to accommodate their superstar’s preference not to play the five. They’ve tweaked their roster so he’s only had to play center 7% of the time this season versus 25% last year. The Lakers also signed 27-year old center Andre Drummond from the buyout market to play big minutes in these playoffs and protect Davis from having to spend half his time at center like he did in the playoffs last year.
Coming off a calf injury that cost 2 months and 30 games, Davis and the Lakers will both be looking for ways to continue limiting his minutes at center in the playoffs, though that might not be the smartest thing to do.
THE MODERN PROTOTYPE CENTER
Anthony Davis is the prototype modern NBA center, a gifted physical big with the skills and tool set of a guard. He’s a superstar who can score and defend buckets at all three levels: at the rim, from midrange, or from three
A modern center trapped in a world where positionless basketball has made traditional low post centers obsolete, Anthony Davis’ unprecedented skillset on offense and defense have freed him up to redefine what centers can do. Not limited to scoring and defending in the paint, Anthony’s range enables him to extend his skill set to the full court, making and blocking shots at the rim or taking and challenging jumpers from midrange and three.
While Davis is the ultimate unicorn in game of basketball, his preference to play power forward rather than deal with the physicality and banging of playing center full time has dominated the Lakers’ roster building efforts. From last year’s tandem of JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard to this year’s hybrid duo of Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell and recent signing of Andre Drummond, the Lakers have struggled to find a center to pair with Davis.
Rather than trying to accommodate his preference to play power forward, maybe the Lakers should focus on figuring out how to optimize Anthony Davis superstar potential by empowering him to play center all of the time.
EMPOWERING DAVIS TO PLAY CENTER
Is Davis not wanting to play center blasphemous or simply recognition centers in the modern NBA have evolved into a multi-positional players who have to be versatile enough to able to play and defend the four and the five?
Let’s be honest. It’s not that Anthony Davis doesn’t want to play the five. He just doesn’t want to be tied down to playing ‘old school,’ low post basketball where he doesn’t have freedom to utilize his full skill set as a modern center. He just doesn’t want to have to bang in the paint and defend bigger physical centers, which is something the Lakers could address like they did in the playoffs last year when Davis played the five and Markieff Morris the four.
If center is Davis’ best position and the Lakers are at their best when he plays center, shouldn’t the priority then be to figure out how to make that work rather than futilely chasing different options to replace him at center? Traditional centers who clog the paint on offense and lack the mobility to switch and rotate on defense are not the answer as the Lakers found with McGee and Howard last year and Drummond, Gasol, and Harrell this year.
The Lakers’ goal should be to free Anthony Davis to play the five. The only ways to unleash his potential is to go small and pair him with a stretch 4 power forward who can defend like Markieff Morris or even LeBron James.
AD MUST PLAY CENTER IN PLAYOFFS
Regardless of the addition of Andre Drummond and the desire to limit AD’s minutes at the five, the Lakers are going to need Anthony Davis to play the center close to half of the time if they hope to repeat as NBA champions.
The Lakers’ likely playoff opponents are the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, LA Clippers, and Brooklyn Nets, which means Anthony Davis’ likely center opponents are Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert, Ivica Zubac, and Blake Griffin. None of these are centers whose physicality and banging in the post should deter Anthony Davis from defending them and all of them are centers who’ll struggle mightily to defend Davis outside of the paint or from deep.
Anthony Davis and the Lakers need to realize that limiting the minutes that he plays center is the last thing they should be doing in the playoffs. They need to be strategizing how to get Davis more minutes at center not less. Playing Davis at the four with Drummond, Gasol, or Harrell at the five only weakens the Lakers defensively as none of their three centers are elite rim protectors and Drummond and Harrell lack the ability to space the floor.
Going big doesn’t work when none of your bigs can protect the rim or rotate quickly enough to play the aggressive defense Vogel prefers. The Lakers need to change gears and look to go small in the playoffs with AD at the five.
The Lakers efforts to accommodate Anthony Davis’ desire to play the four are threatening to undermine the Los Angeles Lakers’ chances to repeat as NBA champions because none of the centers on the roster complement AD.
If the Lakers are going to win the championship, they need to abandon the mistaken idea that Andre Drummond, Marc Gasol, or Montrezl Harrell will be capable of giving them what they need from the center position to win. Anybody watching this team can tell you right now that Drummond, Gasol, and Harrell don’t have the defensive mind set or skill sets the Lakers need. Anthony Davis is going to have to play center if the Lakers want to win.
While Anthony Davis may not want to play big minutes at center, the Lakers are going to need him to do that in the playoffs this year just like last year. The sooner they realize this and make the needed adjustments, the better. Should that mean that the Lakers go small with Davis at the five and James, Morris, and/or Kuzma at the four, then so be it. The Lakers are not going to win the championship with Drummond, Gasol, or Harrell at the five.
Anthony Davis playing center is the key to the Lakers winning their 18th NBA championship and Davis joining Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain and becoming the next great Lakers’ center.
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My biggest concern as the Lakers enter the stretch run for the regular season and prepare for the playoffs is not Anthony Davis’ or LeBron James’ health. It’s the Lakers apparent plans to minimize the minutes Anthony Davis plays at the five.
Frankly, I’m worried that the Lakers are so dead set on not having Davis play center they’re going to put the team’s championship hopes on some combination of Andre Drummond, Marc Gasol, and Montrezl Harrell being able to hold down the center position so Anthony Davis does not have to play the five.
Anybody who understands the game can see via the simple eye test that Drummond at the five is not going to be a winning move in the playoffs. Regardless of who else the Lakers put on the floor, Drummond is like a fish out of the water trying to play D. He’s always out of position, unable to protect the rim, and a step late. And Gasol and Harrell are not that much better.
The sooner the Lakers realize this, the better their chances of making the right adjustments, which would be playing Davis at the five with Markieff Morris or even LeBron James at the four. That’s they only way the Lakers are going to repeat as champs.
I’m hoping Frank sees this already and once we get into the playoffs, we’ll see a repeat of last year when first McGee and then Howard got benched and we went with AD at the five. Drummond, Gasol, and Harrell will get minutes when there’s a good matchup but generally the Lakers need to go small in the playoffs with Anthony Davis at the five.
If that means abandoning the idea of Drummond being a difference maker or benching Harrell entirely, then so be it. If that mean AD plays 50% of his time at the five like last year, then so be it. That’s the only way the Lakers are going to win this year.
If the Lakers want to find a center who can complement Davis, they need to trade for a player like Myles Turner, Christian Wood, or Chris Boucher and stop the stupid annual Rent-a-Center campaigns that only screw up the defense and clog the paint for LeBron and AD. Time to get smart and find a modern stretch center who complements Anthony Davis.
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I think that regular season issues are not necessarily post-season issues. Rotations shrink in order to better match up rather than find guys minutes so that they feel like they’re a part of the team. This was proved beyond a doubt last season. I think Frank will play the matchup game.
Add ‘Kieff to the tilt-a-whirl at center. Or rather the roulette wheel. Could be a different combo of guys every round to get it done. I take Frank at his word that he intends to use all three guys, he used all his centers in various rounds of the playoffs last time around and I haven’t seen or heard anything that alters that perception for me.
Lastly Davis is already “great”. He’s won NBA accolades, made big time NBA money and has the ring of a champion to prove it. Few sport the resume’ he has already amassed and no amount of fans critiquing or the media denigrating the team based on injury will change his greatness. Because he is unwilling to play a label does not reduce what he has done already and what he has yet to do.
Let us remember the extraordinary circumstances under which this season is being played, specifically by the Lakers and Heat. 71 days between the last game of the NBA Finals and the first game of this season. 3 or 4 day stays in cities because of the schedule. Compressed to the point of breaking. If it weren’t for the injuries we’ve suffered we would be sitting at 1-3 and be nitpicking the role-players who let us down in close games. Had it not been for Hill rolling into LeBron we would still be a top 4 team.
So I don’t think this season has any more affect on Davis and his greatness than Kawhi missing a season plus with a torn quad or forcing his way out of San Antonio, or Shaq’s “rehabbing on company time” or Magic’s bum hamstring against Detroit or any number of players who came up with injuries that greatly affected their team. Great players are great because of what they accomplish on the court, not because of what fans decide off of it.
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I agree with Jamie. Frank will use AD at 5 based on matchups…just like last year. AD signed long term with the Lakers because of their commitment to playing him at the 4 during the regular season and adjusting accordingly in the playoffs. The Lakers have a long history of taking care of their players especially superstars. It would be very concerning for them to tell AD one thing to get him to sign and then flip the script. As far as Kareem, Wilt, Shaq…those are totally different players. All were very durable. That’s not how I would describe AD. It doesn’t take away from his greatness it just means he’s a different type of player.
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Chiming in to agree with Jamie. Saving Davis from the long haul pounding of playing 5 during the regular season is a luxury the Lakers enjoy and smartly utilize. Versatility is also a strength of this team and I expect Vogel will adjust lineups according to match ups in the playoffs, with Davis shifting to 5 as needed. I look forward to watching this team at full strength. Cheers!
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreAnthony Davis to the rescue. After missing two months with a calf injury, Anthony Davis returns to the court tomorrow night when the Los Angeles Lakers meet the Dallas Mavericks in a crucial Western Conference series.
The big question everybody will be looking for answers to in Dallas is how much better will the return of Anthony Davis make the LeBron-less Lakers? Will AD’s return elevate the Lakers and stop any slide lower than 5th seed? Considering Davis will be on a minutes restriction and hasn’t played in two months, will his addition be enough for the Lakers to dominate and sweep the 2-game series with the Mavs and doom them to the Play-In Tourney?
The Lakers are in 5th place in the Western Conference with a 35–23 record with 14 games left in the regular season. The Mavs are now in 7th place with 30–26 record, 1 loss behind the 6th place Blazers and 3 behind the Lakers. The 2-game back-to-back series between the two teams is critical for playoff positioning as the Mavs are desperate to move up to 6th place to avoid the do-or-die Play-In Tournament between the 7th through 10th place teams.
With LeBron James not likely to return until the first week of May, the Lakers are facing a challenge heading into the playoffs similar to last year, when the league resumed play with 8 regular season games before the playoffs. Despite only having a few games to get ready, the Lakers had no problem getting their conditioning and chemistry back and having both superstars fully healthy and rested proved to be a huge advantage in the playoffs.
There’s a good chance a rested and healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis could give the Lakers a similar advantage in the playoffs this year, considering how tough the short offseason and schedule have been. However, major changes in the Lakers’ roster, especially the addition of Andre Drummond, and a tougher path to the NBA Finals than last year combine to make the Lakers repeating as champions a bigger challenge.
Anthony Davis only played 8% of his minutes this regular season at center versus 40% last regular season and playoffs so one of the big unanswered questions is how many minutes will AD play the five in this year’s playoffs. Last playoffs, head coach Frank Vogel was forced to bench centers JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard as their inability to defend on the perimeter essentially made them unplayable against many of the Lakers’ opponents.
Frank Vogel will certainly face a minutes crunch at center in the playoffs this year as Drummond, Harrell, and Gasol all have serious defensive issues inside and outside that can only be fixed by Anthony Davis playing center. Like last year, I think we’re going to see Vogel alternate starting Drummond and Gasol depending on the matchups and closing most games with Davis at the five. Odd man out in the minutes crunch may be Montrezl Harrell.
How well Drummond and Davis play together is going to be a critical key to whether the Lakers can repeat as champs. Opposing defenses have been able to focus on and force Andre to take bad shots or turn the ball over. With AD on the court, teams aren’t going to be able to easily double and contain Drummond. With AD and LeBron on the court, the Lakers hope Drummond can become the wild card to allow them to dominate teams.
Tomorrow night’s game will be the first test of whether the Lakers can reprise their brilliant closing run of last year and ride a fully healthy and rested LeBron James and Anthony Davis to win the NBA championship.
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Count me among those who believe how well Anthony Davis plays is going to be the key to the Lakers repeating as champs. When you look at AD’s stats in last year’s playoffs, it was his elite jump shooting from midrange and three and his elite defense against centers and scoring guards that was the difference maker.
Coming off a 2-month hiatus due to the calf injury, AD’s jump shooting and defense so far this regular season has not been as good as last year or in the playoffs. Now with only 14 games left, AD is going to have to find that missing gear. How well he does in these 14 games should be a good harbinger of what to expect from him in the playoffs.
Can he transform what has been a struggling front court, especially against good defensive teams with rim protectors? Can he draw attention away from Drummond so Andre can get untracked? We need Playoff AD if we’re going to repeat. It’s really that simple. LeBron we count on. He’s the known commodity. It’s AD who’s going to have to prove last playoffs were not a one-off.
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Can’t read too much into the first game which was as much about knocking rust off as anything else. He had some decent defensive plays which got me pumped. AD should be just fine in a few games. The Laker’s playoff positioning might not survive it but c’est la vie.
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This pursuit of a James, Davis, and Drummond Big Three is going to crash and burn when we play the Nuggets and Clippers. Playing low post centers Drummond and Harrell is playing right into the Nuggets and Clippers game plans against the Lakers. Pack the paint and force the Lakers to beat you from three. Odds are a team does that, they will ultimately win.
I hate to see us lose to the Nuggets and Clippers as that could push us into the Play-In Tourney but it could also be the best possible event to make the coaching staff wake up and remember how we won everything last season by going small with Anthony Davis at the five.
That puts me in an untenable situation where I have to root for Drummond to play well because he’s a Laker knowing that his playing well is not going to be enough to win the championship. Hopefull, the silver lining for those losses would be the Lakers refocusing on playing small ball on offense and defense and repeating as champions.