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While the coronavirus hiatus cost the Lakers home court advantage and their momentum, it unleashed the enigma known as Kyle Kuzma, which in the end may have unlocked their missing key to winning a championship.

That may seem like a bold and audacious statement since bringing home the ‘Bubble Championship’ will likely prove to be infinitely more difficult than winning other NBA titles considering the unprecedented challenges. But the emergence of Kyle Kuzma may have given the Lakers that elusive third star they had been lacking before the bubble who could transform them into a team with the fire and star power to win the championship.

The resurgence of Kuz at both the offensive and defensive ends may have catapulted the Lakers’ Kuzma and Davis small ball lineup from a promising occasional option to an essential game-changing championship weapon. Kuzma not only fixed his broken shot during the four months off to become the Lakers’ top 3-point shooter at 44.4% in the bubble but has also been playing elite defense against top scorers like the Rockets’ James Harden.

While Vogel’s likely to continue to resist starting Kuzma at the four and Davis at the five, the challenges the Lakers face in the bubble playoffs will force him to play the Kuzma and Davis lineup more as the playoffs progress. Replacing McGee or Howard with Kuzma transforms the Lakers into a faster, quicker, better shooting team that stretches opposing defenses and opens lanes for James and Davis to attack the paint and dominate games.

That Kuzma at the four and Davis at the five has been the Lakers’ best lineup is not a secret. The team’s best 5-player lineups both for the entire regular season and for their time in the bubble featured Kuzma and Davis. 5-player lineups with Kuzma at the 4 and Davis at the 5 posted team-best net ratings of 23.3 for the full season (112.5 offensive less 89.2 defensive) and 53.8 for the bubble games (130.8 offensive less 76.9 defensive).

As the Lakers get ready to play Portland in the first round of the playoffs, Frank Vogel should take a close look at how Anthony Davis and the Pelicans swept the Trail Blazers in 4 games in the first round of the 2018 playoffs. After losing Cousins to injury in January, the Pelicans decided to go small, moving Anthony Davis to center and trading for stretch four Nikola Mirotić. The underdog Pelicans’ small ball attack totally dominated the Blazers.

The Pelicans exposed the Blazers major defensive weakness by going small. Mirotić and Davis totally dominated the lumbering Collins and Nurkic and there’s no reason not to expect the Lakers’ Kuzma and Davis to do the same. The stats tell the story. Davis averaged 33.0 points and 11.8 rebounds and Mirotić 18.3 points and 9.0 rebounds compared to just 11.8 points and 8.0 rebounds for Nurkic and just 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds for Collins.

With JaVale McGee playing poorly and the small ball Rockets likely next on the playoff schedule, Frank Vogel knows the key to the Lakers winning the NBA championship is going to be the Kuzma and Davis small ball lineups. That means fewer minutes for McGee and Howard and more minutes and eventually a starting role for Kyle Kuzma as the Lakers plan ahead for their eventual matchups with the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks.

Bottom line, while fate may have robbed the Lakers of their momentum and hard earned home court advantage, the basketball gods may have made it up to them by helping Kyle Kuzma make the leap to become their third star.

Contrary to the media hype, the Portland Trail Blazers are the perfect team for the Los Angeles Lakers to meet in the first round of the NBA playoffs and will be lucky to avoid a sweep and win even one game in the series.

Here are the four reasons why the first round playoff series between the Lakers and the Blazers will not live up to the hype and why Los Angeles should easily burst Portland’s bubble and end their Cinderella season:

1. Midnight Has Come for Cinderella.

The Blazers have been living on borrowed time. They were long shots at the start of the bubble to make it to the #9 seed, lost a game they should won when Dame missed two free throws, and survived two last second thrillers. They rode their great guard duo of Lillard and McCollum to the #8 seed and then edging the undermanned Grizzlies to earn the right to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, a dubious honor that’s likely to end badly.

The reality is the Blazers are still just another #8 seed who’s going to be quickly dispatched by the #1 seed as has happened sixty-six out of seventy-two times since the NBA started matching #8 and #1 seeds in the playoffs.

2. Blazers Are a Poor Defensive Team.

The Blazers may be able to outscore lottery teams like the Grizzlies but they aren’t a good enough defensive team to upset an elite top seed like the Los Angeles Lakers who boast a pair of top five superstars in LeBron and AD. The Blazers’ #3 offense will be lucky to steal a game from the Lakers #3 defense and Portland’s #27 defense will get shredded by LA’s offense, which was top-5 before slipping to #11 after meaningless bubble games.

Dame may be the bubble MVP and the Blazers the media darlings but defense wins championships and the Lakers’ elite D will handcuff the Blazers offense while their offense crushes Portland’s porous defense.

3. Matchups Strongly Favor Lakers.

While Lillard and McCollum clearly have an edge over the Lakers’ guards, neither of them are capable of consistently dominating NBA games the way Lakers’ top-five superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are able to do. Los Angeles not only has the two best players in the series in James and Davis but also a deeper and more talented veteran roster than Portland, especially on defense with elite shot blockers like McGee and Howard.

The NBA is a matchup league and as good as Dame and CJ are, they’re not in the same class as LeBron and AD. who have long histories of feasting on Portland’s defense, as do Kyle Kuzma, Dwight Howard, and Rajon Rondo.

4. Lakers Are Primed for Challenge.

All the media attention and hype about the Blazers excelling and the Lakers struggling in the bubble ignore the simple fact that the Blazers were playing to stay alive while the Lakers had already clinched the top seed in the west. The pundits predicting the underdog Blazers upsetting the favored Lakers are playing right into LeBron James hands. They forget James is the master at transforming allegedly disrespectful press into challenge and motivation.

Now that the playoffs have started and the games finally count, expect LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers to hit the hardwood looking to dominate, humiliate, and rout the Trail Blazers in the first round.

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It seems like the Los Angeles Lakers have been waiting for these playoffs to start forever. Finally, after a 7 year drought and a five month hiatus due to coronavirus, the Lakers will play their first playoff game Tuesday night. That game against the Portland Trail Blazers will mark the official start of the Lakers’ quest to win the franchise’s 17th NBA championship, a quest that will ultimately be dedicated to the memories of Kobe and Gigi Bryant.

Winning this NBA championship will be the most challenging in the history of the game and will demand legendary legacy performances from LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the entire roster of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Nothing can change the dynamic and direction of an NBA playoff series like a savvy head coach surprising the opposing team by making an unexpected defensive move that disrupts their team and superstar player’s offense.

Here are four surprise defensive moves head coach Frank Vogel could be unleash on unprepared Lakers’ playoff opponents, like the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Milwaukee Bucks:

1. Double Team Opposing Superstar.

While doubling superstars won’t qualify as a surprise since the Lakers have already used the tactic against the Blazers’ Damian Lillard and the Rockets’ James Harden, it will still be a bread-and-butter playoff defensive move. Designed to force opposing superstars to give up the ball and to disrupt their rhythm, teams will usually mix up double teaming with straight man-to-man defense to prevent offenses from anticipating what’s coming.

One wrinkle the Lakers might consider instead of playing man-to-man behind the double team is deploying a 3-man matchup zone where a center protects the rim while a pair of wings prevent high percentage corner threes

2. Play Occasional Matchup Zone.

Occasionally switching from man-to-man to a matchup zone defense to break the rhythm of the opposing team’s offenses has always been a savvy playoff strategy as most teams need a few possessions to adjust to a zone. Mixing matchup zones, man-to-man defenses, and trapping double teams could be the perfect defensive formula to confuse offenses,especially against playoff teams heavily reliant upon scoring from a superstar.

Rather than play more traditional 1–2–2 or 3–2 zones, the Lakers should consider playing a 2–3 defense designed to force teams to shoot mid-range twos and above-the-break threes rather than easy-to-make corner threes.

3. Box-and-One Opposing Superstar.

The Lakers could also take a page out of Raptor Nick Nurse’s playbook and run a box-and-one defense against the opposing team’s superstar like Toronto did against the Warriors’ Steph Curry in last season’s NBA Finals. Traditionally, a box-and-one usually is comprised of one defender covering the opposing team’s superstar 1-on-1 backed by a four player zone defense with a second player doubling the superstar when he gets into his zone.

The big advantage of the box-and-one is that teams never practice against it because nobody ever plays it. While it’s a gimmick defense, it’s another look the Laker could throw to confuse opposing defenses and superstars,

4. Kuzma Defend Opposing Superstar.

The NBA is a matchup league and the Lakers will need a primary defender for each of the superstars whom they will face in their championship quest. What they lacked during the regular season was a big elite wing defender. The dramatic defensive improvement of Kyle Kuzma in the bubble has raised hope they now have a quality defender who can hold his own with bigger wing scorers like Kawhi Leonard, Dame Lillard, and James Harden.

While Kuma has a long way to go to be an elite defender, he has the size, length, speed, quickness, and athleticism to bother top-tier wing scorers like Lillard and Harden and gives the Lakers another big defensive weapon.

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Playoff series are a totally different challenge than one-off regular season games because teams have time to focus on their opponent’s weaknesses during multiple games and to surprise them with unexpected moves. Look for the Lakers to strategically deploy combinations of man-to-man, double teams, zone sets, and box-and-one defenses to confuse and disrupt opposing offenses and try to slow down and control opposing superstars.

Having a collection of defensive adjustments like these four moves could give Frank Vogel and the Lakers an edge that could help them navigate an extremely tough and arduous road to their 17th NBA championship.

Veteran NBA coaches always like to keep a few promising lineups, special plays, or unexpected offensive moves hidden during the regular season so they can spring them on unwary opponents once the playoffs begin.

Here are four surprise offensive moves head coach Frank Vogel could be saving for unsuspecting Lakers’ playoff opponents, like the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Milwaukee Bucks:

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1. LeBron and AD Pick–and–Rolls.

This is something the Lakers have rarely used in the regular season but should become an offensive staple in the playoffs, especially with a trio of three-point shooters positioned on the weak side to keep defenses honest. Isolating LeBron and AD in a two-man game on one side of the court would make it difficult for other defenders to help. Lakers’ foes should expect to see a steady diet of LeBron and AD pick-and-rolls to close out games

This should become the Lakers’ go-to play to get the ball to Anthony Davis via pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop, taking advantage of LeBron’s unmatched playmaking and AD’s elite ability to finish at the rim and shoot the three.

2. LeBron James Matchup Hunting.

This is another tactic we haven’t seen often from the Lakers so far this season, with the exception of the last Clippers game, where LeBron James relentlessly hunted and took advantage of switches with Lou Williams. What makes this strategy so difficult to defend is James’ superior passing ability, which makes it tough for teams to double him and forces the defender who was hunted and switched to try to defend LeBron 1-on-1.

The bonus of the matchup hunting strategy is it forces the opposing team’s best offensive guard to use valuable energy at the defensive end and risk getting into foul trouble. It’s an ideal strategy against players like Lillard.

3. Five-Out Shooter Lineups.

This is a lineup the Lakers have only shown a few times during the regular season but could be extremely difficult to defend when Kyle Kuzma comes into the game for JaVale McGee and Anthony Davis is moved to the five. Imagine defending LeBron, AD, Kuzma, Waiters, and Caruso one-on-one in a five-out set and trying to keep them from attacking the basket. It would be a nightmare scenario for the defense with no rim protection in the paint.

Five-out shooter line-ups would be especially potent against teams with traditional defensive centers who like to clog the lane playing drop coverage and could end up forcing those teams to go small and bench their centers.

4. Kuzma at Shooting Guard.

If you believe the position a player can play is the position he can defend, Kuzma at shooting guard could be a future lineup weapon that enables the Lakers to play LeBron, AD, Kuzma, as well as a center at the same time. While it’s just an experiment at this time, the potential for the Lakers and Kyle Kuzma are eye opening. If he shows he can defend guards and shoot lights out from deep, he could become impossible to defend as 6′ 8″ guard.

The Lakers’ experiments having Kuzma playing shooting guard have so far been defensively oriented but Kyle’s ability to shoot the three and attack the basket when challenged could make playing the two a dangerous weapon.

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Watch for the Lakers to specifically make extensive use of ‘LeBron and AD Pick-and-Rolls’ and ‘LeBron James Matchup Hunting’ as major strategies in each playoff series to optimize the production from their two superstars. ‘Five-Out Shooter Lineups’ and ‘Kuzma at Shooting Guard’ will likely be surprise moves Vogel will deploy at key moments during series when the matchups are right or the Lakers need something to change momentum.

Possessing a repertoire of offensive adjustments like these four moves could give Frank Vogel and the Lakers an advantage that could transform a tight series into a rout and propel the team to win their 17th NBA championship.

While it’s looking like the Portland Trail Blazers will be the Los Angeles Lakers’ first round playoff opponent, the stats and matchups between the teams suggest LA would be smart to start Kyle Kuzma for Danny Green.

With Portland starting a traditional two-big lineup that includes 7′ 0″ Jusuf Nurkic and 6′ 11″ Zach Collins, the Lakers clearly need to counter with their normal starting front court of 7′ 0″ JaVale McGee and 6′ 10″ Anthony Davis. But does it necessarily follow the Lakers should start their current starting bubble guard tandem of Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope against the Blazers’ All-Star guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum?

There’s a case to be made the Lakers could benefit from thinking outside the box and starting Kyle Kuzma instead of Danny Green because he would make the Lakers a better, more dangerous team at both ends of the court. Who’s playing well, how McCollum’s back holds up, and what the stats from the teams’ three prior matchups say strongly argue starting Kuzma over Green could be a savvy series-changing move by the Lakers’ Frank Vogel.

First, it’s obvious KCP will be the Lakers’ primary defender on Damian Lillard with the team’s other starting guard defending CJ McCollum, who’s been struggling with his shooting in the bubble due to a lower back injury. Vogel’s also made it clear he thinks the Lakers are “going to need two quick guards against most of these teams we could be facing. It’s a small-ball league, so we’re going to need defensive speed on the perimeter.”

That statement in itself should raise a red flag. Vogel needs to rethink whether Danny Green fits the definition of a “quick, speedy guard” at this point in his career as the recent evidence clearly shows he has lost a step. Green lacked the speed or quickness to stay in front of Murray or navigate his way through picks to prevent Jamal from forcing switches to take advantage of him, which is exactly what McCullum is going to do too.

That’s why Vogel benched Green against the Pacers after Murray hunted switches and scored easy baskets on him several times in a row and it was no coincidence Kyle Kuzma was the player he chose to replace Green. Kuzma’s shown the quickness, length, and athleticism to defend guards and Vogel would be wise to remember what happened in the Pacers game when he puts together his defensive game plan for the Trail Blazers series.

Kuzma’s defense has improved dramatically in the bubble games. While he still has a long way to go to become an elite defender, the effort and results he showed defending scoring guards like James Harden cannot be ignored. Meanwhile, Green’s 115.6 defensive rating for Lakers players in the bubble ranks dead last on the team and his -16 individual net rating ranked 12th. In other words, Green’s stats confirm what the eye test is telling you.

If that were not enough, Vogel should take a long look at the stats from the three games the Lakers and Blazers played before the coronavirus hiatus because those numbers make a compelling case for Kuzma over Green. Kuzma averaged 18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in 26.4 minutes while Green averaged 3.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 20.7 minutes. Kyle Kuzma also posted far better offensive, defensive, and net ratings for the three games.

I don’t expect Frank Vogel to start Kyle Kuzma over Danny Green should the Blazers end up being the Lakers’ first round opponent but I’ll be rooting like every Lakers for Danny to play like the savvy vet he is and prove me wrong. Unfortunately, the chances are the Lakers are going to need Kyle Kuzma in the starting lineup at some point during the Blazers series and I just hope and pray Frank Vogel recognizes this sooner rather than after it’s too late.

It’s reassuring Frank Vogel plans to have Kyle Kuzma play big minutes as the team’s sixth man but the Lakers are going to need him to start at some point during these playoffs if they plan to win their 17th NBA championship.