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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreOut of sight and out of mind seems to be how the pipe dream pundits view LeBron James and Anthony Davis as they pimp James Harden, Joel Embiid, Rudy Gobert, Nikola Jokic, Paul George, and other wannabe champions.
The doubt and disrespect is rampant as it seems the NBA has forgotten just how good LeBron James and Anthony Davis are as they write off the Lakers’ chances of repeating as NBA champs and cheer on the same casts of losers. This has become the anybody-but-the-Lakers season as the media pushes the same perennial losers and underachievers like the Clippers, Jazz, Suns, 76ers, Bucks, and Nets while ignoring the defending champion Lakers.
Well, a rude wake up call is coming as Anthony Davis and LeBron James are nearing return. As this manic, injury filled season staggers to the finish line, the Lakers are preparing to unleash a healthy and rested LeBron and AD. Like last year, the Lakers will have to quickly come together and get ready for the playoffs but they will again have a defining competitive advantage because LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be fully rested and healthy.
How important are LeBron James and Anthony Davis and how will their rested and healthy return help the Lakers? Recall LeBron was the near unanimous leader in the MVP race before injuring his ankle a month ago. With the shortest offseason in pro sports history and a compressed 72-game schedule, LeBron getting a month and a half off could be a blessing in disguise like the 4 month layoff he got during last year’s suspension.
The story is much the same for Anthony Davis, who was struggling with a nagging calf issue after the 2020 NBA Finals and throughout the first few months of the season before the Lakers finally shut him down in February. With the memory of Kevin Durant’s calf injury turning into a torn Achilles, the Lakers opted to take a very conservative approach and gave AD over two months to recover to make sure he was 100% healthy before playing again.
Meanwhile, the Lakers have surprisingly adjusted and persevered, winning 7 of the 15 games without James and Davis, carried by double digit scoring from Schroder, Kuzma, Harrell, Drummond, Morris, and Caldwell-Pope. During the 15-game stretch without LeBron and AD, the Lakers’ defense still ranked 4th in the league and their bottom five 3-point shooting jumped into the top half of the league with 12.2 makes on 33.7 takes for 33.7%.
A Lakers roster learning how to win without LeBron James and Anthony Davis should be scary for the rest of the NBA, especially if they remember how well LeBron and AD played at both ends in last season’s playoffs. LeBron averaged 28.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, 8.4 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.9 blocks shooting 55.4/34.5/71.0% while Davis averaged 27.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.3 blocks shooting 56.7/37.5/88.2%.
The Prospect of a fully rested and healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis as the Lakers head into the playoffs should strike fear in the hearts of the pretenders who’ve somehow forgotten how good their two superstars are. The silver lining to this injury plagued, Covid distorted, compressed season for the Lakers is LeBron and AD are going to be healthy and rested like they were last season after the league was suspended for four months.
Teams like the Clippers, Bucks, Jazz, and Nets who think they’ve got a good shot to win it all this season need to remember what LeBron said after the Lakers won the championship last season after being rudely disrespected. Pointing his finger, LeBron said: “We just want our respect. Rob wants his respect. Coach Vogel wants his respect. Organization want their respect. Lakers Nation wants their respect. And I want my damn respect too.”
So buckle your seat belts, Lakers fans, because LeBron James and Anthony Davis are going to fully rested and healthy and looking to remind the rest of the NBA who are still the best two players and best team in the NBA.
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Awesome article and well put. Can’t fault the media for not hyping injured players though. You can’t be like “James Harden had a 40 point triple-double…but he ain’t no LeBron!!!” That is simply not how mass media works. But I understand your point.
For my part I honestly kind of welcome the disses and lack of respect. The Laker scrubs have treaded water, they have neither excelled and stepped up or sunk and floundered and you know what? That’s just fine. They’re, to a man, role players. Some have, or had, big dreams of being “The Man” or “leading the team to a bunch of surprise wins” or whatever. But none of them have shown that ability. They’ve played just fine, as expected.
Let’s also be honest that all of the injuries this season (which has, statistically, been about on par with past NBA seasons) along with the compressed nature of this season distorts all the stats and expectations and you know what? it doesn’t really matter. Injuries a re a part of the game every single season in every single sport played on planet Earth. I’m sure there’s some star disc thrower with a separated shoulder somewhere saying “this was MY year…” and I hope that person dedicates themselves to rehab and coming back strong.
COVID season is an equal opportunity beast, no team is immune. The Lakers should be thankful, I suppose, that they haven’t had any games cancelled. But, honestly, it wouldn’t have been all that bad as the league is basing playoff seeding on win % not games won. So, in some ways, the rest would have been nice but I prefer the building of chemistry and grit.
In sport absence does not make the heart grow finder, it just reveals the warts of those who were not expected to perform at a high level when pressed into duty. It reveals how much talent and chemistry matter in two very, very different ways. It shows what teams have heart and what teams have hype. The reason I still believe in the Laker scrubs who can’t score a lot is the defense they still bring every single game. Once AD and LBJ come back, so to will the points.
I agree, this time off will end up being a blessing if this group can hang onto the 6 or higher seedings. If this group, without James or Davis, can tread water to a 6+ seeding it should, but won’t, garner coach Vogel some COTY mojo. Never happen, but it should. It’s proven the Laker defense is elite despite the players on the court and the offense was never meant to function without both James and Davis for this kind of stretch.
Buckle up indeed.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreThere are good reasons why a Lakers and Lonzo Ball reunion are unlikely this summer, including Ball preferring not to return to the team that traded him and the Lakers not wanting to be hardcapped due to a sign-and-trade.
But there are also compelling reasons why Lonzo Ball today could be the perfect point guard to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis and a better option as a playmaker, shooter, and defender than Dennis Schroder. Lonzo is also a better complement for 20-year old Talen Horton-Tucker, whom the Lakers project as part of their backcourt of the future who needs to be paired with a guard who can shoot the three and take care of the ball.
The 23-year old 6′ 6″ Ball shoots 38.4% on 8.1 threes and makes 5.7 assists to 2.0 turnovers per game whereas the 27-year old 6′ 3″ Schroder shoots 34.1% on just 3.3 threes and averages 5.4 assists to 2.8 turnovers per game. The younger and bigger Ball also has greater upside as a player and is more versatile as defender than the older and smaller Schroder. Ball averages 0.6 blocks and 1.4 steals per game vs. 0.2 blocks and 1.2 steals for Schroder.
Like Schroder, Ball is going to be looking for a big raise in free agency this summer. He knows his days in New Orleans are over and because he’ll be a restricted free agent, the Pelicans will be looking to sign-and-trade him. Spending more than $20 million for Lonzo Ball, even though it would hard cap them, would be a smarter move than spending that much for Dennis Schroder, who’s nowhere near as good a fit for what the Lakers need.
But there may be strong competition for Ball, who’s dramatically improved his shooting over the last two years. He’s not only become an elite high volume 3-point shooter but is now also shooting almost 80% from the line. With Zion dominating the ball for the Pelicans as a point forward, Lonzo has learned to thrive off the ball, becoming a true 3&D guard whom the Pelicans would like to keep but not at the cost of going into the luxury tax.
Should Lonzo be interested, the Lakers should jump at the opportunity. They could move some long term salary commitments to open up space under the hard cap to give Horton-Tucker and Caruso well deserved raises. The Pelicans might be receptive to receiving Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in return for Lonzo Ball. Kuzma and KCP are both young, proven, championship quality rotation players on team friendly contracts.
A sign-and-trade with the Pelicans for Lonzo Ball on a 4-year deal starting at $20 million for Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s combined $26 million per year would end up saving the Lakers $6 million salary per year. Lonzo Ball would become the starting point guard and Talen Horton-Tucker the starting shooting guard, giving the Los Angeles Lakers a dynamic young backcourt of the future to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
As for being hardcapped again, there’s a sense from writers following the Lakers like Eric Pincus the Lakers might welcome financial constraints to prevent them from overspending and incurring stratospheric luxury taxes. There was talk from Woj and other pundits that the Lakers were looking for ways to get out of some of their future commitments to create flexibility this summer to re-sign their own free agents Horton-Tucker and Caruso.
Another wrinkle of a Lonzo Ball and Lakers reunion is Ball’s agent is now Rich Paul of Klutch Sports. It’s no secret Rob Pelinka and Rich Paul have a history of making moves to mutually benefit the Lakers and Klutch clients. There’s something karmic about Lonzo signing with the player agent who engineered his trade to New Orleans. What better story than the prodigal son returning to lead the team that drafted him to more championships.
At 23, Lonzo has become his own man, no longer tethered to the whims and opinions of a dominant father. He’s put his career in the capable hands of Rich Paul and worked hard to become a better and more valuable player. While New York is tempting, Rich Paul surely knows the best landing spot for Lonzo Ball and his career would be back at Staples next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He’s the perfect point guard for the LA Lakers.
Temporarily overshadowed by his younger brother LaMelo’s sensational rookie season, Lonzo has an opportunity to return to Los Angeles, rejoin LeBron, and become the first Ball brother to win an NBA championship.
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You almost have to wonder whether Rob Pelinka and Rich Paul have already discussed the possibility of Lonzo Ball returning to the Lakers and that’s one of the reasons they haven’t given Dennis Schroder that extension. By every measure – shooting, playmaking, defense – Lonzo is a better player and fit than Dennis. The reunion of Lonzo and the Lakers would be great.
You also wonder if this was in the back of Lonzo Ball’s mind when he decided to sign with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports. Lakers and Klutch have partnered to boost the Lakers championship hopes and the careers and paydays of the multiple Klutch clients who’ve signed with the Lakers. There’s a synergy there that’s working.
There’s also something logical and savvy about the Lakers wanting to be hard capped to insure they won’t end up paying stratospheric luxury taxes like the Warriors and Nets are going to pay. And KCP and Kuzma would be great financial and talent fits for a Pelicans team that is one of only two NBA franchises to never pay any luxury taxes. Pelinka and Buss know that too.
Finally, Lonzo would be the ideal backcourt mate for THT and for LeBron and AD. He’s now a proven high 30’s volume 3-point shooter who’s also solved the free throw issues and is shooting almost 80% from the line. His entire game is exactly what the Lakers need in a point guard. Lonzo and the Lakers are a match made in heaven… or in Rich Paul’s and Rob Pelinka’s minds.
Other than trading for Myles Turner, which I think the Lakers might still be able to do, trading for Lonzo would be the smartest available move the Lakers could make this summer. They could then follow that up by pulling off a sign-and-trade of Harrell, THT, and two first round picks for Myles Turner. I laid out the numbers and the Lakers can do this and still stay under the hard cap.
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I would love to see Lonzo back, but I am concerned about his health. He’s missed about 30% of his team games since he’s been in the league. Hopefully he’ll be able to stay healthy whether he reunites with the Lakers or not.
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Health has become a major concern with many players, Lee. I’m hoping Lonzo will be able to stay healthier going forward. The last two seasons in particular have been trying for everybody’s health.
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You literally cannot help yourself. He’s mentally and physically weak. Stay away.
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It’s easy to throw shade when you don’t agree but the facts dispute your claims. Mentally and physically weak? This is a player who has retooled his once crazy jump shot and has shot 37% and 38% the last two seasons and is one of a dozen NBA players shooting over 8 threes per game. He also has retooled his once horrid free throw shooting and is not shooting 79% from the line. Finally, as Zion took over control of the ball as point forward, Lonzo has adjusted his game to becoming the penultimate 3&D player. And while he still respects his father, he’s become his own man, signing with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, the agent who engineered the AD trade that sent him away from the Lakers. Give the kid the credit due, Stan. He’s only 23 but has rebounded from a tumultuous first couple of years with the Lakers to become a premier point guard who has a great future and would be a perfect fit on the Lakers.
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He still can’t stay on the court and shrinks in the moment. Dispute that.
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The Pelicans are one of only two NBA teams that have never paid luxury taxes. While Lonzo has played great for them, they’re not willing to pay him $20 million per year, not with big raises coming soon for Zion and other young players. They see Josh Hart as the less expensive version of Lonzo for their purposes. That’s why he was on the trade market at the deadline and will likely be sign-and-traded this summer. One of the reasons AD wanted out of New Orleans was his belief ownership was not willing to pay to build a championship team. Also, Lonzo does not like it there and wants to move. That may change but most of the stories coming out of New Orleans seem to confirm that Lonzo will be traded this summer.
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Give LakerTom credit: he gets a player he likes in his mind and like a bird dog he doesn’t stop hunting. I’m sure he’s also trying to orchestrate a way for us to obtain Victor Oladipo so he can recover and he the plyer he was, what… three seasons ago?
Schroder and Ball are a wash statistically, the differences minimal and Ball has not been tasked with leading a team. He’s the third option on the Pelicans, at best, and the notion that he “wants to leave” because ” he doesn’t like it there” is naught but personal opinion and speculation.
If Ball does come back it absolutely should not be in a sign and trade. The idea that the Lakers want to handcuff themselves is ludicrous. They don’t need to spend into the stratosphere you just let Schroder walk. We’ve done worse. See Randle, Julius for whom we got n-a-d-a. Zip, zilch, zero. Not even a 2nd round pick in 3067.
Like Schroder I believe Lonzo’s market has been inflated by hype and his decent three point % in one single season. This is not consistency, this is “my contract is up, better make some shots” kind of play. While I do think he will be a solid three point shooter it’s not like he’s leading the Pelicans to the playoffs. He’s the 3rd or 4th ball handler on a team fighting for the play-in. Zion, Ingram, Bledose, Ball. Sorry, that’s not $20 million on the Lakers. Might be $20 mil in Orlando or some such local.
Both Lonzo and Schroder, frankly, should leap at whatever team offers them more than $15 million if money is the object. If the Lakers offer either player that sum I will be disappointed. Neither player is the future of our team. Far better to continue to groom THT while LeBron is on the team rather than invest in the Fool’s Gold that is both Ball and Schroder. I’m not fooled by the game or two that both show elite stats in, I’m far more convinced by the body of evidence the majority of the games they play in reveal.
Let’s look at their playoff stats. That’ll be easy because of the two only has played in a playoff game. That would be Dennis. His playoff numbers aren’t great. As a starter in Atlanta in 2016-17 he had his best showing. Since then, as a backup but with high level responsibilities and expectations he’s been mediocre. He’s never been a key cog on a team that won one playoff series. Which was once, when he averaged 19 mpg in the playoffs in 2015-16 in Atlanta. The biggest issue I have is that in all his playoff series, as has been the case as a Laker, his assist to turnover ratio is atrocious. Save for 2016-17 where he averaged 7.7 assists to 1.7 turnovers they are all subpar for a team with banner expectations. They’re fine for a shooting guard or a backup but not for a starting PG.
I’ll honestly be fine if either Ball returns or Schroder is retained or even if they both end up Lakers. For the right price. That price is not in the $20 million dollar range and, for me, does not go one cent over $15 million. Their skillsets are complimentary in nature, neither is an “alpha” type player. It’s because of that they both over-value their worth. If they make 20+, good on them and their respective agents. if it’s with the Lakers then Rob isn’t doing his job very well.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreFollowing 2 dismal games by Andre Drummond and Montrezl Harrell and facing a key 5-game stretch that could determine playoff seeding, should the Lakers be considering reinstating Marc Gasol as their starting center?
On the surface, it looks like the league may have figured out that packing the paint and forcing Andre Drummond and Montrezl Harrell to go against two or three defenders is the smartest strategy to shut down the Lakers’ centers. The Knicks and Hornets not only held Drummond and Harrell to 3.5 and 3.0 points per game respectively but also outrebounded the Lakers 47–33 and 45–38 and dominated them in points in the paint 54–38 and 50–32.
The defensive tactics exposed a major weakness in both Drummond’s and Harrell’s games in that both struggle to score when surrounding by multiple defenders. That resulted in the Lakers being totally dominated in the paint. The Lakers return home to a critical 5-game stretch that starts with a single game against the Celtics, following by a pair of 2-game back-to-back series against the Jazz and Mavs that could determine their playoff seeding.
Realistically, the Lakers need to split their 2-game series with Utah and Dallas. Sweeping the Jazz or Mavs is unlikely without LeBron James or Anthony Davis but getting swept could dump them into the play-in tourney. The Lakers are 5th in the West, 1 loss behind the 4th place Nuggets and 3 behind the 3rd place Clippers but only 2 ahead of the 6th place Blazers, 3 ahead of the 7th place Mavs, and 4 ahead of the 8th place Grizzlies.
With just 17 games left in the season, the next 5 games could determine the Lakers’ playoff seeding and there’s a good argument that Marc Gasol could be a better fit because he can pull opposing centers out to the 3-point line. The NBA is a copy cat league and Celtics coach Brad Stevens, Jazz coach Quin Snider, and Mavs coach Rick Carlisle saw what Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and Hornets coach James Borrego did to shut down the Lakers.
Starting Gasol could enable the Lakers to pull opposing centers out of the paint and create space for Schroder and Horton-Tucker to get to the rim. Gasol is also a better passer and playmaker than Drummond and Harrell. Over the 7-game road trip, Gasol’s 97.0 defensive rating was best on the Lakers and his 4.8 net rating the best of the team’s centers. He averaged 8.0 points, 5.5 boards, and 3.5 assists in 19.7 minutes shooting 60% from three.
While Vogel’s notoriously reluctant to change his starting lineup, the Lakers are at a point where starting Gasol instead of Drummond could be their best option to survive the next five games and remain in the top 6 in the West.
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Knowing Vogel, I think he sticks with Drummond as the starter Thursday night against the Celtics but if Andre has another uninspired effort with single digit scoring and the Lakers get killed on the boards and in points in the paint, he might blink before we play the Jazz and Mavs. Having Gasol to pull Gobert and Porzingis out of the paint could be valuable to get Schroder and THT room to attack the rim.
The irony is that as soon as the Lakers signed Drummond, Gasol started to finally play a lot better. His stats for the road trip are his best stats so far this year. The best defensive rating on the team over the 7-game road trip and 6 of 10 from deep. Lakers cannot get swept in those 2-game series against the Jazz and Mavs. Marc could be the key. Even if he doesn’t start, Frank has to give him major minutes if we’re going to earn even a split.
I see the next 5 games as the big speed bump over which we need to prevail to avoid getting dumped into the play-in tourney. It’s also a test of Frank Vogel’s coaching expertise. If he believes in defense, then the stats say Gasol is the one to play. If he believes in stretching defenses, then Marc is the one he needs. Lots of politics here with Drummond signing so it’s going to be interesting to see what he does.
Are there ways to solve the problems Drummond and Harrell are having scoring and taking care of the ball in a crowded paint? The big solution is to rain threes and force teams to spread their defenses. Easier to do that when you have five guys who can shoot the three on the floor rather than just four. Going to be interesting to see what Frank does. Our season may be on the line.
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I like the idea of starting Gasol. Vogel needs to give it a try. I completely agree with the fact that Drummond and Trez are having trouble operating when swarmed by multiple defenders. You made a very good point. My question is, is it possible to play Trez at the 4 and Gasol at the 5 at the same time with the second unit?
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I think it’s possible and Vogel has mentioned it but never actually tried it. The problem is Trezz can’t stretch the floor, which means his man is going to sag and clog the middle. which defeats what we gain from Gasol stretching the defense.
I like the idea of Marc starting and then Dre and/or Trezz coming off the bench depending on who the opposing center is. We need at the least to make sure we surround Dre and Trezz with four willing 3-poin shooters when they’re in the game.
Making threes is going to be the only way we can give them chances 1-on-1 to score. Otherwise, opponents know they’re both easy to double and triple and force to take bad shots or turn the ball over.
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All of these are valid points. I remember when Gasol subbed in the Knicks game he gave the team a jolt, but as soon as he went back to the bench, the Knicks resorted to the same game plan of double-teaming Drummond and Trez. The results were the same – more turnovers, getting outrebounded, and getting outscored in the paint. So I would definitely give Gasol the start for the next five games and see how we fared. When AD and LeBron get back they should make life easier for Drummond and Trez. Very good points, Tom.
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The fly in the ointment is the Lakers promising Drummond a starting position when they recruited him so I expect Frank to continue to start him. The best we may hope for is Marc backing up Andre so we can see the difference he makes in stretching the defense.
The problem to me is both Andre and Trezz do not handle doubles well. Their shooting percentages go down, shots get blocked, balls get stripped, and turnovers ensue. That’s going to be a problem that I don’t think is solvable. Gasol is going to be our best option in the playoffs unless AD is willing to play big minutes at the five, which he may have to.
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I would argue ‘Yes’ for more than few reasons.
-Fit. Drummond is a throwback style center, more like JaVale McGee than either Gasol or Howard. He needs to operate in the paint and once AD and LeBron get back that won’t necessarily be a strength. However, I think it can work given more time which brings us to…
-Time, or lack thereof. There won’t be many practices to get everyone acclimated to one another. Gasol has the benefit of having been here since camp and knows what we’re doing on both ends. Dre’ has a large hill to climb in that regard.
-Star or Star on a Bad team? I think Dre’ has legit NBA star qualities: lightning quick hands, a good nose for the ball, and some cool post moves that I personally appreciate. But that’s, unfortunately, not the modern game. Gasol can hit the three which opens up the paint for James.But, in the end, I also agree that Frank is going to stick to his guns and leave Drummond in with the starters. Trezz will be the first man up and the only thing that could change that is losses in a playoff series. Same as last season.
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I’d give Frank more credit than that. Frank adjusted when it mattered most and the way he stuck with last season got us to best in the west. Byron Scott is still mailing folks about installing the Princeton offense, lol.
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Frank’s a great coach who’s done a great job, especially with the defense. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of room for improvement on the offensive side of the ball, with or without LeBron and AD. The one huge blind spot for both Pelinka and Vogel seems to be failure to value volume 3-point shooting and what it could do for this team and for LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That’s why the Ghost of Byron Scott applies. Still fogging up the Lakers thinking and keeping them from embracing the modern game. Still a sense that great 3-point shooting is incompatible with great defense. The pendulum is still not in balance. Hopefully, we’ll see the proper adjustment this summer. That’s all I’m saying.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreWhile he came away empty handed at the Trade Deadline, Lakers VP of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka may have bounced back to win the NBA Buyout Sweepstakes by signing Andre Drummond and Ben McLemore.
The Lakers buyout duo came up big last night as the undermanned Lakers, missing LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma, Marc Gasol, and Wesley Matthews, dominated the heavily favored Nets in a 126–101 blowout win. The stars of the game were the Lakers’ new center Andre Drummond who posted game high 20 points and 11 rebounds and guard Ben McLemore who rained 5 threes and 17 points late to turn a close game into a rout.
The game was a matchup of two highly publicized buyout duos as the Lakers’ Drummond and McLemore faced off against the Nets’ Aldridge and Griffin. The matchup of the buyout duos was a blowout like the game itself. Drummond and McLemore played like championship contributors while Aldridge and Griffin played like waived veterans. The Lakers’ duo combined for 37 points and 12 boards vs. the Net’s duo’s 14 points and 3 boards.
The Nets were 11.5 point favorites despite missing their third superstar James Harden. The Lakers were not only missing their two superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis but also three other key rotation players. The difference in the game was the Lakers’ top ranked defense holding the Nets’ 2nd ranked offense to just 101 points on 43.8% shooting from the field and 18.5% shooting from deep, including 0–15 second half threes.
Pelinka’s buyout market coup has taken away a lot of sting out of losing LeBron and AD for at least another two or three weeks. Drummond and McLemore have given the Lakers serious hope they can weather the storm. Davis is expected back in two weeks and LeBron in three. The Lakers are now 1 loss behind the Nuggets for 4th in the West and two losses behind the Clippers for 3rd in the West. Their goal is obviously 3rd seed in the West.
While it’s still early and the sample size is small, Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office may have won the NBA buyout sweepstakes with their savvy signings of center Andre Drummond and guard Ben McLemore.
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One of the overlooked aspects of the Lakers trouncing of the Brooklyn Nets was the matchup of buyout duos – Lakers’ Andre Drummond and Ben McLemore vs. the Nets’ LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin. Rob Pelinka vs. Sean Marks.
While it was just one game, I have to think the Lakers, Dre, Ben, and Rob were the clear cut winners over the Nets, LaMarcus, Blake, and Sean.
Most of the time, buyout additions don’t really make that big a difference but the action in the buyout market was insane this year, dwarfing the trade deadline market completely. Rob has done a great job the last two years by adding Keef last year and Dre and Ben this year.
Small sample size so far but I think Rob and the Lakers found two key missing puzzle pieces with Dre and Ben giving us desperately needed size at the five and volume 3-point shooting at the two.
Lakers just need to keep pushing hard until Bron and AD return. Beat the Knicks and Hornets and finish this roadie with a 5-2 record and keep that #3 seed in their headlights going forward.
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The veracity of this notion can’t be determined at this time. Neither player will have the role they have now as they’re not sharing the floor with James or Davis. Last night our buyout guys had more impact but, in all honesty, far less is being asked of LMA and BG. Even with Kyrie going down they’re not shot creators, just finishers. LMA will be huge for them in the playoffs and Blake…is Blake, we’ll see what he has left. Aldridge can stretch the floor, defend at a fairly high level and is a solid passer. Let’s see how these guys all mesh when our team is healthy-ish and rejoin this debate then.
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LOL. Of course. No James, No Davis for Lakers. But No Harden, No Kyrie for Nets. Anybody who thinks Aldridge and Griffin were better signings than Drummond and McLemore are either Nets’ fans or…
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreWe’ve seen this movie before, haven’t we? But usually we’re the other team who just lost the game because some red hot 3-point shooter just shot lights out and sent the the Lakers home losers. Well, not tonight, baby.
Tonight, the team where 3-point shooters come to die got revenge as Ben McLemore, starting with a minute left in the 3rd, exploded for 5 threes and 17 points in 13 minutes to turn a 12 point lead into a 25 point Lakers’ win. Ben made 6 for 12 from the field and 5 for 10 from deep as the Lakers tied their season record with 19 made threes on 34 attempts while holding the Nets to just 5 made threes on 27 attempts, including a 0 for 15 second half.
The Lakers took an 8-point 1st quarter lead, lost it but still led by 3 at the half, and were holding a shaky 12-point lead with a minute left in the 3rd when Ben McLemore made what was the most important shot in the game. After missing his first four shots in the game, Ben’s corner three jumper off a pass from Caruso broke a 3-minute drought without a field goal and gave the Lakers confidence and a 15 point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
There were many Laker heroes last night — Dre, Dennis, Kenny, Talen, Keef — but it was Ben splashing two more threes to start the fourth that pushed the lead to 21 points and turned a competitive game into a Lakers’ blowout. The Lakers have struggled all season to win the 3-point battle without a volume 3-point shooter like McLemore who could shoot them back into games or catch fire and turn close games into blowouts like last night.
Ben McLemore may be the answer to the Lakers 3-point shooting woes. While Ben’s not going to take 10 threes every game, if he could take 7 or 8 threes per game, he could reverse the Lakers’ negative 3-point differential. Teams can’t increase their 3-point shot attempts by just having their existing shooters take more threes. The only way teams can realistically increase the threes taken is by adding high percentage, high volume 3-point shooters.
Volume 3-point shooting is specific skill and mind set the Lakers didn’t have on the roster until they added McLemore. It takes a player with a quick release and zero conscience or worry when it comes to letting the shot fly. That’s not Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Dennis Schroder, Alex Caruso, Marc Gasol, or even Kyle Kuzma, Wesley Matthews, or Markieff Morris but it is Ben McLemore as we saw last night when he rained threes on the Nets.
How much difference can one volume 3-point shooter make for the Lakers? The math is simple. Each additional 3-point shot is potentially worth a point so if Ben can add 8 more threes per game, that could be worth 8 points. That’s assuming he shoots threes at 33.3%. If he can take 8 threes and make 3.2 or 40%, then he could add 9.6 points to the Lakers’ offense, which would elevate the Lakers from 23rd with 110.8 ppg to 1st with 120.4 ppg.
While some of those 8 additional threes by McLemore could be new shots, some will just replace 2-point or 3-point shots taken by other players so Ben taking 8 threes per game is not going to actually generate 9.6 more points. However, volume 3-point shooting by Ben could generate half of that or 4.8 more points per game which would increase the Lakers’ ppg to 115.0, which would make them a Top-5 NBA offense in points scored per game.
So while last night’s game was just one game, it shows why Ben McLemore and his high percentage, high volume 3-point shooting could be the missing piece in solving the puzzle of the Lakers’ negative 3-point differential.
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The Lakers have improved their 3-point shooting dramatically over the last 5 games, ranking 19th with 33.0 3PA PG, 8th with 14.6 3PM PG, and 1st with 44.2% 3P%.
For the season, they now rank 24th with 30.8 3PA PG, 26th with 11 3PM PG, and 20th with 35.7% 3P%.
Ben is now tied with LeBron for 1st on the team with 6.5 3PA PG, 1st with 2.5 3PM PG, and 4th at 38.0% 3p%. He’s averaging 20 mintues per game.
He’s also playing pretty good defense, ranking 2nd on the team at 94.5 for his first two games. That should become more challenging as teams look to hunt him but the Lakers play a pretty good rotating defense so they should be able to hide him.
At any rate, how sweet it is to see a Laker be the player who gets hot and turns a competitive game into a blow out. Great start to Ben’s Lakers career.
LAST NIGHT WAS A GAME WE WOULD NOT HAVE WON WITHOUT ANDRE AND BEN BEING ADDED TO THE ROSTER!
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One team’s discards are sometimes another team’s gold. I see no reason to change the buyout rule…if a team is willing to pay market value for a player, then decide to cut him to save a few bucks, so be it.
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I agree 100%, John, but you can bet the small market teams are going to focus on this for the next CBA.
Frankly, you rarely see any of these waived players actually turn into anything special. The Lakers struck gold last year with Markieff Morris and it looks like they could have struck gold again this year with Drummond and McLemore. Kudos to them for smart scouting and for convincing those two guys that the Lakers were the team with whom to sign. Great job by Rob and the front office.
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Great game by Ben. Hmmm…Ben is averaging 20 mpg same as Wes. If he can generate some consistency those minutes are his for the taking. My three stars for the game: 1. Dennis, 2. Dre 3. Ben.
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As this chaotic season heads down the stretch and LeBron James and Anthony Davis appear to be getting ready to return, what jumps out at me is the similarity of the Lakers’ situation this year to last year, when the team benefited from a pair of fully healthy and rested superstars heading into the playoffs because of the 4-month suspension. This season, the time off due to the injuries may have given them the opportunity to again head into the playoffs fully rested and healthy. That could be the decisive advantage the Lakers need to repeat as NBA champions.