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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreWith superstar Anthony Davis tentatively sidelined for at least 2 to 3 weeks, the big question facing the Los Angeles Lakers is can they win without AD? The answer could depend upon whom coach Frank Vogel decides to play.
The Lakers need to embrace “Next Man Up’ and come out and ready to play aggressively and with confidence. When they do that and are having fun, flying around on defense and running on offense, they can beat anybody. Winning games without Anthony Davis will require the Lakers to dominate the 36 minutes during the game LeBron James plays and find a way to hold court and stay even during the 12 minutes per game he will need to rest.
The good news is the Lakers have one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the NBA. While they’ve struggled with rim protection and 3-point shooting, they still have the top rated defense in the league to rely upon. While the Lakers will surely miss Anthony Davis over the next 11 games, they’ve won 4 of the 5 games he’s already missed and 3 of their 5 top ranked lineups and 6 of the 11 that had positive net ratings were without AD.
Coach Vogel needs to tap into the Lakers’ lineups with the best records and play the combinations that have been the key to the team having fun and winning all season long. The time for experimenting must now be over.
So let’s first take a look at the stats for the successful 5-player lineups with LeBron James without Anthony Davis that Lakers’ head coach Frank Vogel should be prioritizing for the next 11 games based on past performance:
An analysis of these lineups shows James appears 6 times, Harrell 4 times, Morris 4 times, Caruso 3 times, Matthews 3 times, Kuzma 3 times, Schroder 2 times, Gasol 2 times, Horton-Tucker 2 times, and Caldwell-Pope 1 time. The good news is the number of times each player shows up matches well with what the eye test and recent performance tells us. The exception is Markieff Morris whose positional importance is clearly higher without AD.
Frank Vogel is not likely to make major changes to the starting lineup but Gasol, Morris, James, Matthews, and Schroder has been the best non-AD Lakers’ lineup and Matthews is clearly playing better than KCP right now. Considering how Kuzma has been shooting, rebounding, and defending, Gasol, Kuzma, James, Matthews, and Schroder would be a starting lineup with a good chance to get the Lakers off to good starts and winning ways.
Vogel said before Anthony Davis’ injury that he wasn’t going to change the starting lineup ‘anytime soon.’ AD’s injury changes everything. Kuzma is the logical starter to replace Davis and Matthews needs to take over for KCP.
Unfortunately, the Lakers had no positive lineups without one of James or Davis on the court, which means Frank Vogel’s big challenge will be what happens when James, who’s already playing too many minutes, rests.
Caruso, Harrell, Horton-Tucker, Morris, and Caldwell-Pope will be the Lakers’ reserves, even though they don’t make up a viable 5-player lineup. Instead, Vogel is going to have to combine them with two or three of the starters. We’ve already seen the trio of Caruso, Harrell, and Horton-Tucker have had great success. Frankly, I could even see Frank going with an 8-man rotation with Morris and Caldwell-Pope playing minimal minutes as needed.
Defensively, the Lakers are now going to have to go small, which means playing an aggressive trapping, hedging, and doubling style of defense designed to create chaos and turnovers to ignite fast breaks on offense. Transition is going to be critical as the last thing the Lakers want is to play half court basketball. They need to push the ball relentlessly, take wide open threes in transition, and not hesitate to attack the paint or crash the boards.
Hopefully, the injury to Anthony Davis will motivate and empower the team to come out focused and ready to play. That could be the silver lining that gets the team back to playing the kind of Lakers’ basketball we all love.
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GASOL, KUZMA, JAMES, MATTHEWS, SCHRODER START!
CARUSO, HARRELL, HORTON-TUCKER OFF THE BENCH.
MORRIS AND KCP ONLY USED IF EMERGENCY. pic.twitter.com/KBrJnHKhBm
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) February 17, 2021
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreLakers fans can be excused if their hearts were in their throats and minds filled with memories of the Warriors’ championship hopes collapsing as Kevin Durant hobbled off the floor after tearing his Achilles tendon.
Fortunately, it looks like the Lakers dodged a bullet as Anthony Davis’ injury was only a strained calf and not a dreaded torn Achilles. But the injury was still a harsh reminder how fragile championship hopes can be in this league. Missing AD for two or three weeks or more may also force the Lakers to take a second look at what their plans for the season had been before the injury. Here are four big questions the Lakers may suddenly be asking themselves:
1. HOW CONSERVATIVE SHOULD LAKERS BE WITH AD?
This is the easy question to answer. The Lakers are going to be very careful to allow Anthony Davis however long he needs to be 100% healed before returning to action. They’re clearly going to error on the conservative side.
Only 27-years old, the Lakers are not going to risk the future of their young superstar. Anthony will come back only when he’s completely healed and can safely play without worrying about re-injuring the calf or his Achilles.
While he’s not expected to return until after the All-Star break, which means he will miss the next 11 games, the Lakers will not hesitate to hold him out longer if necessary to ensure he will be healthy for the playoffs.
2. SHOULD THE LAKERS RETHINK AD’S ROLE ON THE TEAM?
With the short offseason and the compressed schedule, the Lakers had already dramatically changed Anthony Davis’ role this season, playing him at center just 9% of the time compared to 26% of the time last season.
Part of the reason for the change was to limit the rougher physical play he would face playing more minutes at center but part was strategic to deploy Davis’ defensive talents more often against perimeter players.
Since the issues with his calf have been something Anthony has been struggling with and affected his play all season long, expect the Lakers to continue to the strategy of playing him more at the four than the five.
3. DOES THE INJURY HURT THE LAKERS CHANCE TO REPEAT?
Anthony Davis’ injury definitely raises doubts and may reduce the Lakers’ chances of repeating as NBA champions. While he has played well, AD has not played offensively or defensively at the level he played last season.
Assuming he misses two to four weeks, the Lakers are likely to struggle to play at the same level they’ve played this season. While they’ve continued to win most of their games, they haven’t dominated like earlier in the season.
With Utah leading the West and the Clippers right behind them, the Lakers may find themselves having to play their crosstown rivals just to reach the Western Conference Finals and then maybe the Brooklyn Nets in the Finals.
4. DO THE LAKERS NEED TO TRADE FOR ANOTHER BIG?
The Lakers already allow miss the elite rim protection they received last season from their tandem of centers JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard and have allowed the 5th most points in the paint of any team in the league.
With AD now out for 2 to 4 weeks, the Lakers lack of size become even a bigger issue. With few quality bigs available as free agents and only two centers on the roster, the Lakers may be forced to make a trade.
Ideally, the Lakers would like to add a longtime solution at center who can help their perimeter defense as well as protecting the rim. The big question is who is available and how much will it cost the Lakers to trade for him.
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I’m always looking for the silver lining in every cloud and I think Anthony Davis’ injury and missed time may end up helping the Lakers in two ways.
First, I think the team is going to need to rely on the next man up philosophy to survive while AD is out. Frankly, they have been playing terribly the last couple of weeks with LeBron James bailing them out game after game. That luxury is now gone.
Second, I think the Lakers have to make a trade now as the only reason they could do that was having AD available to play the five, even though he only did it 9% of the time, with Trezz eating up center minutes in a way JaVale or Dwight never did.
There’s not many quality centers available as free agents so it’s inevitable the Lakers will have to trade for a center or at least a power forward who can block shots and play small ball center. It’s going to be a challenge as there are several other NBA teams also looking for bigs too. Pressure’s on Rob Pelinka to come through. Lakers’ rim protection has been abysmal recently as hsa their 3-point shooting.
Have to also hope time off will enable AD to come back fully healthy as his subpar play compared to last season is likely partly due to the calf/Achilles problem that’s plagued him all season. He needs to get 100% healthy so he can dominate when returns.
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreDespite having the second best record and top rated defense in the league, there are obvious chinks in the Los Angeles Lakers’ armor that threaten to derail their quest to repeat and win their league-best 18th championship.
Anybody watching the Lakers this season understands the team has serious problems protecting the rim, shooting threes, and scoring in the half court, especially when neither LeBron James or Anthony Davis are on the court. That’s not to malign how the additions of Gasol and Harrell have helped the Lakers offensively. Marc’s elite passing and 3-point shooting threat and Trezz’s low post scoring and energy have clearly been pluses offensively.
But the Lakers’ centers aren’t going to suddenly start protecting the rim, nor will their shooters consistently start raining threes, or a legitimate third star magically emerge to help LeBron James and Anthony Davis carry the load. That means the only realistic way for the Lakers to address these serious issues and bolster their championship chances is to make trades to fix the weaknesses and upgrade their roster before the March 25 trade deadline.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the options the Lakers have to improve their rim protection, enhance their 3-point shooting, and find a third star to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis via a midseason trade.
1. THE LAKERS NEED BETTER RIM PROTECTION
While the Lakers still have the top defense in the league and are second in blocked shots, the eye test and other stats clearly show they miss the rim protection provided last season by JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard.
The Lakers moved on from McGee and Howard when they changed their defensive philosophy in last year’s playoffs by having their centers trap, hedge, and double the ball off screens rather than playing drop coverage. Unfortunately, replacing McGee and Howard with Gasol and Harrell has both hurt the Lakers rim protection and failed to improve their perimeter defense. What the Lakers need is a modern center who can do both.
That means the Lakers should be looking for versatile centers who can defend inside and outside, which eliminates lumbering low post bigs like Drummond or Whiteside and favors mobile bigs like Noel or Cauley-Stein. The dream targets are modern centers with size and mobility like Myles Turner, Chris Boucher, and Christian Wood but the Lakers shouldn’t ignore dynamic athletic small ball centers like Julius Randle and John Collins.
While the Lakers would like to make a move, they don’t need to since they already have the best modern center in the NBA in Anthony Davis. But adding a versatile defensive center like Noel or WCS could be a smart move.
2. THE LAKERS NEED BETTER 3-POINT SHOOTING
After shooting a sizzling 39.8% and ranking 3rd in the league through the first 13 games of the season, the Lakers 3-point shooting reverted to the mean and fell to just 33.3% and 29th in the league over the last 14 games.
Despite the 3-point shooting slump, the Lakers have been able to continue to win at the same rate over the last 14 games as in the first 13 games though their margin of victory dropped dramatically from 10.8 to 5.5 points. The Lakers’ poor 3-point shooting reached rock bottom the last 3 games as they failed to shoot 30%, having to go into overtime twice and come from more than 20 points behind twice just to squeak out close wins at home.
While they’re the 14th most accurate 3-point shooting team in the league at 36.4%, the Lakers struggle to create spacing on offense because their 11.0 made threes and 30.3 taken threes per game are the 4th lowest in the NBA. The formula for winning with LeBron James has always been to surround him with elite prolific 3-point shooters. Right now, the Lakers roster simple does not have enough high percentage or high volume 3-point shooters.
Current Laker players struggling with their threes who are possible trading chips include Gasol, Morris, Schroder, Horton-Tucker, and Caldwell-Pope, who has been in dismal shooting slump after a stellar start to the season. Potentially available 3-point shooting upgrades the Lakers might target include guards Lowry, Ellington, LaVine, Bledsoe, Powell, and Mills, forwards Markkanen and Randle, and centers Boucher and Vucevic.
Like centers who can defend in the post and perimeter, there just aren’t any elite shooters who are good defenders sitting around waiting to be signed. That means the Lakers will need to trade to upgrade their 3-point shooting.
3. THE LAKERS NEED A LEGITIMATE THIRD STAR
The emergence of the Brooklyn Nets’ Superstar Big Three of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving as the Lakers possible NBA Finals foe may force the Lakers to consider making a blockbuster trade for a third star.
There’s a good case to be made that two megastars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, arguably the best two players in the league, and a deep and talented roster can still beat a team with three superstars and a weak roster. That’s certainly true if you believe defense wins championships since the Lakers have the top rated defense while the Nets’ defense has major holes. But the offensive firepower of the Nets does present a daunting challenge.
That’s why the Lakers would be wise to adjust their midseason trade plans to upgrade their rim protection and 3-point shooting to include a legitimate third star to improve their lineups when LeBron or AD aren’t on the floor. We saw during the recent two game stretch without AD that the Lakers were fortunate to win in overtime against the OKC Thunder how the defending champs can still struggle when either James or Davis are not playing.
The Lakers don’t want to face a Nets team where they face a 3 to 2 or 2 to 1 superstar disadvantage all game long. They don’t necessarily need a third superstar but clearly need a legitimate All-Star to help LeBron and AD. Possible candidates include Bradley Beal, Zach LaVine, Victor Oladipo, Kyle Lowry, and Eric Bledsoe. Other outside-the-box candidates could include Ben Simmons, Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, or Draymond Green.
Since they don’t have first round draft picks as chips, trading for any of the star players listed above is going to require the Lakers to give up valuable players to land the needed third star to improve their chances of repeating.
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1. THE LAKERS NEED BETTER RIM PROTECTION
2. THE LAKERS NEED BETTER 3-POINT SHOOTING
3. THE LAKERS NEED A LEGITIMATE THIRD STAR -
The more I think about the Lakers current roster and obvious needs, the more I think there’s a good chance the Lakers will be looking hard to make a mega deal for a third star before the trade deadline. I also think the impetus to make that deal is the threat of the Superstar Big Three that the Nets represent. I don’t see the Lakers wanting to play the Nets when they will be facing a constant 3 to 2 or 2 to 1 disadvantage in superstars on the floor. While defense wins championships, superstars’ great offense is the one big weapon that regularly beats great defense.
The Lakers need to pursue a trade for a third superstar who is both an elite and prolific 3-point shooter. I don’t want to go up against a Net’s Superstar Big Three that are all high percentage and high volume 3-point shooters with the Lakers current portfolio of 3-point shooters. The Lakers need a superstar who takes and makes a lot of threes. That’s a top priority. In other words, the Lakers need a trad that helps fix their need for better 3-point shooting problem and a third star to help LeBron and AD.
Finally, the Lakers also need to add a modern defensive center who can protect the rim and witch and rotate to guard smaller players on the perimeter. That’s going to be key against a team like the Nets who have three elite scorers who can score at all three levels. I think Trezz will be fine in a scramble small ball trapping, hedging, and doubling scheme. He did a great job against Jokic last time and tonight should be a second test.
The problem is Marc Gasol. I’m thinking maybe with the injury to Mitchell Robinson’s hand, the Lakers might have an opportunity to pull off a Gasol for Noel trade. I would have no problem with the Lakers starting Nerlens Noel to bolster our starting defense even at the cost of some spacing. Noel is al elite shot blocker and nimble and mobile enough to defend at all three levels. That’s where I would start the trade talk.
The price for acquiring say a Zach LaVine or Victor Oladipo? Probably starts with Dennis Schroder, KCP, and Kyle Kuzma. You can include Kuzma in a multiple player trade whereas it’s almost impossible to do it in a 1-on-1 trade. Lakers may have to also give an asset to a third team to get a first rounder to include. Big challenge but I think one necessary if the Lakers are going to repeat and position themselves for a possible threepeat.
Very interested to see what you think. Will the Lakers try to make a mega trade? If so, who do you think they will targete? Who do you think they may have a shot to get?
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreThe Lakers don’t need a trade to repeat as champs but the chance to make a mega trade for All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, modern young center Chris Boucher, and young shooting guard Terrence Davis is too good to pass up.
Here are the details of the proposed trade. The los Angeles Lakers receive Kyle Lowry, Chris Boucher, and Terrence Davis. The Toronto Raptors receive Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell.
While giving up three proven young stars like Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell is an expensive price to pay, landing Lowry, Boucher, and Davis could fill three major holes in the Lakers’ roster. The Lakers need a third superstar to reduce reliance on LeBron James and Anthony Davis, proven shooters willing to take and make more threes, and better rim protection and 3-point shooting from the center position.
This trade would give the Lakers a highly coveted third superstar in Lowry, three accurate and prolific 3-point shooters in Lowry, Davis, and Boucher, and a modern young center in Boucher who can rain threes and block shots. With the Clippers, Nets, 76ers, Jazz, Bucks, and other competitors looking for ways to improve their rosters at the trade deadline, this is a dream trade opportunity the Lakers should jump upon immediately if available.
Few trades are wins for both teams but this could be the exception as the win-now Lakers get the third superstar, shot blocking, and 3-point shooting they need while the rebuilding Raptors land three promising young stars.
1. LONG NEEDED THIRD SUPERSTAR
Kyle Lowry is a perfect fit as the third superstar to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The 34-year old,16-year veteran All-Star guard is the playmaking, elite 3-point shooting point guard the Lakers need.
The 6′ 0,” 196 lb Lowry would be a major upgrade over Schroder at both ends of the court. He’s averaging 17.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists on 34.7 minutes per game while boasting 3-year best 43.3 /38.2/87.3% shooting. Meanwhile, Dennis is averaging 14.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 31.5 minutes per game, shooting 44.1/31.0/82.5%. He’s special but not the proven playoff tested 3-point shooter and defender Lowry is.
Lowry’s championship resume and playoff experience, gravity as a prolific and accurate 3-point shooter, and across-the-board superiority are exactly what the Lakers need as a third superstar to optimize LeBron and AD.
2. MORE 3-POINT ATTEMPTS AND MAKES
The additions of Lowry (38.2% on 7.5 threes per game), Davis (40.3% on 3.5 threes per game), and Boucher (43.8% on 3.6 threes per game) will go a long way towards improving the Lakers’ weak 3-point shooting performance.
Right now, the Lakers rank 26th in 3-point attempts at 30.3 per game and 13th in shooting percentage at 37.1%. Lowry, Davis, and Boucher took 14.6 threes per game compared to just 6.9 threes for Schroder, KCP, and Harrell. Taking 7.7 more threes per game would elevate the Lakers attempts to 38.0 per game, jump them to 7th in the league, and create needed spacing for LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the other teammates to attack the rim.
The biggest weakness of the Lakers 9th ranked offense is 3-point shooting. Swapping Lowry, Davis, and Boucher for Schroder, KCP, and Harrell could give the Lakers a top rated offense to go with their top rated defense.
3. RIM PROTECTION AND SPACING AT CENTER
Chris Boucher is exactly what the Lakers need to fix their center problems. He’s the perfect modern center who can stretch the floor to create spacing on offense and protect the rim and defend on the perimeter on defense.
The 28-year old, 6′ 9,” 200 lb Boucher is averaging a career best 13.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 23.2 minutes per game. He’s the perfect center to backup Marc Gasol and eventually take over as the Lakers’ starter. While he’s only played 116 games in his career, Chris is enjoying a breakout year with the Raptors, shooting a red hot 43.8% from deep on 3.6 threes per game, which is a monster jump from the 32% he shot before this season.
A bouncy athletic jumper, the untested Boucher is a totally different kind of small ball center than the proven Harrell but his ability to protect the rim and shoot the three ball make him a better center prospect for the Lakers.
Trading Schroder, Harrell, and Caldwell-Pope would be a dramatic move for the Lakers but worth it to acquire a third superstar in Lowry, three great shooters in Lowry, Boucher, and Davis, and a modern center in Boucher.
With a starting lineup of Lowry, Matthews, James, A. Davis, and Gasol and a deep bench of Horton-Tucker, Caruso, T. Davis, Kuzma, and Boucher, the Lakers would be heavy favorites to repeat as 2020–21 NBA champions. Meanwhile, the Raptors add a lightning quick point guard in Schroder to replace Lowry, a dynamic young center in Harrell to replace Boucher, and a proven shooting guard in KCP to upgrade Davis off the bench.
While the Raptors revitalize their team with proven young talent, the Lakers get what they need to optimize LeBron’s championship window and repeat this season as NBA champs and possibly threepeat next season.
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I really like this trade for both the Lakers and the Raptors. I seriously think it’s a great trade for both teams.
The best player in the trade is obviously Kyle Lowry, who’s having a great year for a struggling Toronto team that’s looking to cash in on him while he’s still playing well. While Boucher is not the proven star Harrell is, his shot blocking and 3-point shooting are a better fit for what the Lakers need at center. While Terrence Davis is not the proven vet KCP is, he’s an excellent young player who is shooting lights out.
Landing three proven young stars like Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell is a great return for the Raptors. They’re still capable of competing in the east so getting three young stars is better than draft picks. Adding Schroder, KCP, and Harrell to VanVleet, Siakam, and Anunoby would give the Raptors a great young core.
The fact that the struggling Raptors are looking to move Lowry and the Lakers recent struggles show how much they could use a third star, a shot blocking center, and better and more prolific 3-point shooters could give this trade a better chance of happening than slim and none. It really does give the win now Lakers and slumping Raptors what they need right now.
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Lowry > Schroder (Lakers win)
Harrell > Boucher (Raptors win)
KCP > Davis (Raptors win)Lowry, Boucher, Davis = Schroder, KCP, Harrell (Both win)
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PG: LOWRY, THT, Cook
SG: MATTHEWS, Caruso, T. Davis
SF: LEBRON, Kuzma, McKinnie
PF: A. DAVIS, Morris, Dudley
CE: GASOL, Boucher, Open -
Lowery is too old and too hurt. Can’t give up Trezz, too good and too energizer bunny.
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I like this trade for a lot of reasons. I also don’t like it for a lot of reasons. I am all for trading KCP at this point, just hasn’t looked right for most of the season, feels like we replace the bounce and energy departing with Trezz in Boucher and we kind of break even with Lowry for DS.
I don’t like it because we lose both youth and playoff experience. Of all the guys coming in only Kyle has PO experience worth mentioning, that could be an issue but may break our way.
Basically I feel this would be the best version of Lowry we would be getting and Schroder’s best years are likely still ahead. This is one of my favorite trades you’ve dropped here, makes sense across the board. You lose, you gain, hard to say how it would work out on the court. Lowry isn’t the most ball dominant PG in the league, which is a good thing.
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Thanks, jamie. It’s always hard to judge trades where you’re giving up players you really like, which is why most trades that are proposed are usually rejected by the the fans, or so unfavorable to the other team to be laughable.
Can’t disagree we’re giving up some future for win now in Lowry but the chance to add a third quasi-superstar, a lot more 3-point makes and takes, and a bouncy young modern center prospect are too good to be true, which is why the trade’s not likely to happen.
The trade was my spinoff from the trade I posted from Twitter that had Toronto giving up Baynes instead of Boucher. I would not have done that trade because I like how Harrell is playing at center but I would give up Trezz for Boucher. Happy Valentines Day!
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LakerTom wrote a new post
Read MoreThe world champion Los Angeles Lakers have a habit of failing to get up for games against lessor opponents as clearly demonstrated by their lucky double overtime win Saturday night against the lowly Detroit Pistons.
That this happened just a week after the Lakers played poorly and lost to the same Pistons by 15 points and just two days after playing their best half of the season to crush the Denver Nuggets only adds to the frustration. While Frank Vogel is not going to lose sleep over the Lakers’ disturbing tendency to play down to the level of lessor opponents, it’s still a bad habit for a team seeking to repeat as NBA champions and needs to be addressed.
Here are three simple ideas Frank Vogel could easily implement to cure the Lakers’ obvious motivational problems against lessor opponents: (1) Make the Game Fun, (2) Respect the Opponent, and (3) Practice Good Habits.
1. MAKE THE GAME FUN
It’s easy for NBA coaches and players to forget the game of basketball is fun, especially during a long and trying regular season without cheering and adoring fans in the stands exulting every play and celebrating every basket. Lakers players seem to have the most fun when the team is wildly flying around trapping, doubling, and rotating on defense and relentlessly pushing the pace and fast breaking on offense. So let them play that way.
Stop the vanilla one-on-one defense that allows other teams to stay close and the boring repetitive isolation offense with everybody standing around and free the players to attack on defense, run on offense, and just have fun.
2. RESPECT THE OPPONENT
Nothing is more disrespectful of an opponent than to treat a game with them as a trap game and that’s exactly what the Lakers’ coaching staff has done too often, sitting star players and forgetting every team can beat you. Game plan for the Pistons like you did for the Nuggets, give Grant and Jackson the same respect you gave Jokic and Murray, and come out and play like the Lakers instead of watering down your offense and defense.
The ‘trap’ in trap games refers to doing things differently due to disrespect, which starts with the coaching staff deciding how to approach the game and ends up with the team playing down to the level of their opponent.
3. PRACTICE GOOD HABITS
NBA teams complain about never having time to practice and how games often become substitutes for practice but the reality is games against lessor opponents usually end up ignoring good habits and practicing bad habits. That’s actually the biggest concern with playing down to the level of your opponent, which is why it’s important for the Lakers to play the same style of basketball against lessor opponents that they play against top teams.
The most important game is always the next game and the most important opponent the next opponent, which is why it’s necessary to play the schedule one game at a time and use every game to practice good habits.
The Lakers are trying build an identity as a team that’s committed to defense first and the aggressive defensive formula they’re deploying is to attack the top stars on each opponent with traps and doubles whether bigs or smalls. While there may be tweaks depending on whom they’re playing, the style the Lakers want to play shouldn’t vary greatly. Attack on defense and run on offense. That’s the championship blueprint they should bring every game.
The Lakers need to to make the game fun, respect the opponent, and practice good habits, which means treating each game and opponent as the most important. If they do that, they won’t have to worry about ‘trap’ games.
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Jamie and I have a major difference of opinion (or maybe semantics) regarding the Lakers identity. Jamie believes we play each opponent differently because the matchups require that and points to how played the Rockets and Nuggets differently.
While I see the point Jamie is trying to make, I think the Lakers are seeking an identity that focuses on playing the same type of defense against every opponent, whether their stars are guards or centers. The idea is to force the ball out of their best players’ hands and into the hands of less capable or dangerous players. That’s the philosophy.
Now the tactics might change because of the matchups but those are just tweaks in my opinion. What I think the Lakers are shooting for is a style of basketball at both ends of the court that they can play against every opponent. They want to get where John Wooden got the UCLA Bruins where they imposed their style of play on every opponent at both ends of the court.
Part of doing that is how the Lakers solve the problem of playing down to their opponents. Watching the way we attacked the Nuggets compared to how we played against the Pistons clearly showed a completely different approach to the game both on offense and defense. Lakers players were not having fun, Pistons were disrespected, and we were not practicing good habits.
When you go back to the great Lakers teams and dynasties, they always played the same game regardless of the style or quality of the opponent. That’s the key to consistency for this Lakers team. Attack every team on defense and run against every team on offense. Make them adjust to how we’re playing rather than vice versa. That’s the key to eliminating ‘trap’ games and winning championships.
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I imagine every coach would like to see their respective team impose their will on either end of the court. I also am of the opinion that no amount of ‘making the game fun’ is going to cure the slog of this season. The point is that it’s not as fun, for anyone. Not the players, not the refs, not the fans. The coaches probably don’t mind because they don’t have to shout as loud to be heard. No fans, the compressed schedule, now the All Star break, and all of it while still living in a pandemic makes for one drudgery of a season. Don’t see a way around that one except for we band together as a nation and start doing the right things to lessen the impact of COVID-19.
The fact is that the current Laker defense sieves points in the paint at an incredibly alarming rate and it’s trending in the wrong direction. Against the teams that want to get to the rim we overplay on the perimeter. Little issues like that crop up every game. This could be due to players still adjusting to one another (feels unlikely, it’s been months of playing with each other and not many games or anything missed due to COVID or injury, certainly not when compared to other teams). Part of the problem, ironically, is the 9 man rotation which is better suited for down the stretch and the playoffs. The 9 are getting run down too early. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 10-11 man rotation creep back into the picture for a few weeks but we’ll see.
Markieff Morris looks nothing like the guy we saw in the playoffs, same for KCP. Wes has been extremely up and down in his play. THT is learning every game and is prone to some coverage/communication issues every game. Trezz is often under-sized and more focused on boxing out than challenging with verticality. I do like how well we draw charges and we’re blocking shots at a decent clip. I don’t think we need a mobile center who can run all over the court, that just leaves us open to another communication or coverage breakdown. In the regular season I think the better and more reliable style of defense is to have a solid perimeter funnel into the center scheme like we had last season. A hustling, trapping, run all over the place defense during the regular season makes sense for the last 2 minutes of the half or if you’re down big.
The issues with happiness are the same that are hampering the ‘practice good habits’ point. There isn’t time to practice. The games are practices this season and there’s no good way around it. The only way it can be fun is if the team is mentally present, in order for that to happen they have to be healthy humans which means taking care of themselves mentally and physically. Spending time with family, things like that. One of the big reasons I wanted to roll it back was specifically because if the structure of the season: we only saw half of the sched and that in and of itself was highly compressed . That’s an issue for every team but an issue nevertheless.
I think the best point you raised is to respect the game, respect your opponent and don’t take whole quarters (or sometimes halves) off from playing with intensity and focus. It’s basically a testament to how good LeBron can be that we can d**k around for 2/3 – 3/4s of an NBA game and still find ourselves in striking distance. But it’s bad habit to form and rely on, as it would appear this team has done.
In the end it’s not that I disagree rather that I don’t see an easy way to deploy or instill the points you raise during this COVID impacted season. The good thing for us is the same issues plague the Association. What we really need to is to get past whatever the ASB ends up being, get into the unannounced portion of the schedule and have the playoffs just over the next hill as opposed to several mountain roads away. That and getting/staying healthy will do wonders for all of our team issues.
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I like your 3 ideas, but I only think you have to pick your spots to fly around and trap being ultra aggressive on defense (point #1). I don’t know if you want Lebron and AD to exert that much energy regularly. But yes they definitely should do it more often to change the tempo in games…similar to how Riley had the Showtime Lakers use their trapping defense.
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I agree, Lee. It’s like full court presses. You can’t do it all the time but we should have done it to start the 3rd or 4th quarters to get everybody energized. It’s like a change of pace when things get stale and should be done every game. It can also be used sporadicaly during the game to throw the other team off guard. That can be even more effective than long doses of it. Surprise traps and doubles. Get the team’s adreniline going.
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I think the Davis injury should end the period of lineup and rotation experiments. The Lakers’ starting lineup should clearly be Gasol, Kuzma, James, Matthews, and Schroder at this point. I would also go with an 8-man rotation that adds Caruso, Harrell, and Horton-Tucker and sit Morris and KCP unless needed due to injury or matchups.
I’m also hoping AD’s injury will light a fire under the Lakers and get them to come out and play inspired. They have an easy target tonight to test that theory. Let’s see real Lakers basketball tonight. A wire-to-wire romp would be perfect and allow LeBron to rest all of the fourth quarter. Time for Frank to play the best combinations and stop messing around.
GASOL, KUZMA, JAMES, MATTHEWS, SCHRODER START!
CARUSO, HARRELL, HORTON-TUCKER OFF THE BENCH.
MORRIS AND KCP ONLY USED IF EMERGENCY.