It’s going to be ‘Game Over’ when the Los Angeles Lakers unleash ‘Monster Ball’ — their long, lethal, bully ball version of small ball — on the rest of the league with Westbrook at the one, James at the four, and Davis at the five.
It took Russell Westbrook meeting with LeBron James and Anthony Davis two weeks before free agency but the Lakers appear to be ready to embrace an enhanced version of the small ball lineup that won the championship. That they traded for Russell Westbrook is a clear sign LeBron James is finally ready to give up being the Lakers’ point guard and Anthony Davis is finally ready to jetisone his objections and accept playing small ball center.
While some doubters and naysayers still predict Vogel will still start Gasol or Howard at center, those with inside info like L.A. Times’ reporter Brad Turner are now reporting James and Davis will start at the four and the five. Rob may be the GM and Frank the coach but the NBA is a superstars’ league and the reason the Lakers are finally going to embrace small ball is the same reason they resisted it before: because that’s what their superstars want.
For a Lakers team that spent two years aggressively reducing the time Davis spent playing the five, the idea of finally joining the modern NBA and embracing small ball with LeBron at the four and AD at the five is exciting.
A Monster Ball Lakers lineup with Westbrook at the one, elite volume 3-point shooters at the two and three, James at the four, and Davis at the five could be the biggest and baddest, fastest and quickest small ball lineup ever.
The NBA got its first taste of the Los Angeles Lakers’ unique version of small ball when they won their 17th championship led by 6′ 9,” 250 lbs LeBron James playing the four and 6′ 10,” 250 lbs Anthony Davis playing the five. James and Davis not only dominated offensively — dropping dunks, raining threes, dishing dimes — but also defensively — making steals, blocking shots, guarding and shutting down the opposing team’s leading scorer.
The Lakers’ bubble version of small ball was probably the best since prime Golden State Warriors’ ‘Death Lineup.’ Unlike the Dubs’ small ball lineup, the Lakers played their version of small ball over half the time in the playoffs. Now it looks like Russ, LeBron, and AD have sold the Lakers on a version of small ball that’s even faster and more physical than we saw in the bubble. One ignited and fueled by Russell Westbrooks’s unstoppable engine.
It’s no secret the Lakers want to return to the small ball style and physicality that won them a championship. The addition of Russell Westbrook was all about the vision he, LeBron, and AD had for Lakers playing Monster Ball.
So why should the Lakers’ version of small ball be called Monster Ball? It’s because the NBA has never seen a small ball lineup that has the pure speed and raw physicality that Russ, LeBron, and AD bring when playing small.
Speed kills and the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook because no point guard embodies speed the way he does. The Lakers want to run, which is why they traded for Russ and will move LeBron to the four and AD to the five. There’s no way the Lakers are going to slow down their starting lineup by playing slow footed Marc Gasol at the five. Lakers want to take advantage of the speed of their Superstar Big Three and dominate teams in transition.
Physicality is the second component of the Lakers Monster Ball attack. The Lakers sorely missed the bully ball antics and freakish physicality of Dwight Howard last season. Bringing Howard back was one of Pelinka’s priorities. With three of the league’s most physical superstars in Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers don’t have to sacrifice size or physicality like other teams do when they opt to go small.
Whether on offense or defense, the Lakers’ Monster Ball lineup with Russ at the one, LeBron at the four, and AD at the five is a superstar fueled and turbo charged version of small ball the likes of which the NBA’s never seen.
We knew the Lakers faced a daunting challenge when free agency started because they didn’t have cap space and had to use their only tradeable contracts — Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope, and Harrell — to trade for Westbrook.
Rather than run it back with last year’s players, the Lakers decided to completely turnover their roster, bringing back only Talen Horton-Tucker to join LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Mark Gasol, and Russell Westbrook. They added Kendrick Nunn via the MLE and Kent Bazemore, Malik Monk, Wayne Ellington, Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, and Dwight Howard on minimum contracts and Joel Ayayi and Austin Reaves on two-way deals.
Pelinka did a fabulous job building a championship roster by surrounding Westbrook, James, and Davis with elite volume 3-point shooters like Nunn, Ellington, and Monk and proven quality defenders like Howard and Ariza. The result is a roster filled with talented veteran players who complement the Lakers’ Superstar Big Three and are great fits for their run-and-gun small ball offense and trapping, doubling, and rotating aggressive team defense.
The Lakers’ Monster Ball lineup will redefine what playing small means. It’s the ultimate small ball lineup and perfect system to take advantage of speed and physicality of Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis.
I still believe the meeting between Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis (and Jared Dudley) was the most important event to happen for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason. It was not only the meeting that set the stage for the Lakers home run move to sign Russ but also for the decision to go small with Russ at the one and LeBron and AD moving to the four and five to create a Monster Ball version of small ball.
That meeting by Russ, LeBron, and AD was the only thing that could have changed the direction of the Lakers heading into this offseason. After a disastrous injury plagued year where both LeBron and AD got hurt and the Lakers swung and miss on rent-a-centers Marc Gaol, Montrezl Harrell, and Andre Drummond, it was the Lakers superstars – not their front office or coaching staff – who finally got it right and committed the team to small ball.
Had that meeting not happened, I’m sure we would have seen Frank Vogel starting Dwight Howard, Marc Gasol, or Andre Drummond at center when next season starts. But since the NBA is a superstars’ league, it will be Russ, LeBron, and Anthony who will decide how the Lakers are going to play, not Frank and not Rob. That’s why the Lakers are going to start LeBron at the four and AD at the five and the Lakers are going to win their 18th NBA championship this season.
So true. Now, only if we can get another bruising forward as collateral. Me thinking the market is drying out fast.