I really like these lineups. Talk about a deep and talented offensive and defensive team. WOW!
This is right starting mix based on resume and salaries. Hard to argue with it. Surrounding two superstars LeBron and AD with 3 players who shot over 38% from deep is the first true modern starrting linep the Lakers have ever had.Two superstars and three great role player.
Five shooters, Three elite playmakers. Our best passing center ever? LeBron James. Anthony Davis. The 5-man combination of space creators, playmakers, and defenders is scary good.
I always hated it when the coach deliberately replaced a players who should start with one that shouldn’t just to get firepower to the bench.
Or to maintain a two big starting linep. And Gasol is a major upgrade at center in many ways, BBIQ, playmaking, shooting. The JaVa;le McGee starting center experiment that became unplayable.
You should start the four players who score double-diget points and get paid double-diget salaries. Almost stupid not to.
Especially when you look at the firepower and defense AC, Wes, Lyle, and Keef bring to help Trezz defend. And surrounding Trez with four shooters to creat space to attack.
I entreat every Lakerholic to make sure to read this article as it may be the most important article I’ve written this year as it documents how the changes Frank Vogel made last night may have given the Lakers the blueprint for winning their 17th NBA championship. I’ve been tough on Frank Vogel for not making adjustments soon enough but could not be more impressed with key changes he made last night and hope he continues to keep an open mind going forward.
One thing that’s easy to forget is how the Lakers have improved every game they play against a team in these playoffs.
They lost Game 1 to Blazers, clearly in retrospect the kind of loss that was likely due to the bubble, and then took over, made adjustments, and cruised to a five-game triumph. The same with the Rockets, who also got a bubble win in Game 1. Then the Lakers put the crusher in the 4th quarter to win Game 2. Then put an even bigger shut down to win Game 3. The only two games out of 16 where the Rockets shot over 40% from deep but lost. Lakers now have the Rockets number. Like I said from the start, Lakers in 5!
Tom, I have to admit, this article is for the ages. It relates to the evolution of Lakers basketball in relation to the constantly changing styles of play that will take us well into the future. From traditional centers to small ball styles, who knows what other style will soon imerge? The Lakers certainly are well equiped and suited to handle both traditional and small ball lineups in a dominant fashion should they encounter any of them. It’s already on display in these playoffs.
Great points and well written. It’s hard to find anything to add that you haven’t said. You pretty much confirmed everything I observed thus far during these two series. That is, the Lakers are able to adapt to any new style of play they encounter and when they do, they do it with excellence and superiority against the opponent.
Against the Blazers, they crushed their will after discovering their tendency to play giant slayer in a whole new way. They have learned how to play that style and should the future demand it, you can bet the lakers will be able to counter that. Against a very explosive 3 point shooting, and a newly heralded defensive-minded, small-ball darlings of the playoffs in the Rockets, the Lakers are saying bring it on. The Rockets might regret the result. The Lakers are beating them in their own style, which says a lot about how emboldened the Lakers get by new challenges as they come. These challenges have unlocked the team’s fortunes both on offense and defense, and like you said, might be the blueprint for a successfull run at a championship.
The truth is, the Lakers keep finding diamonds in the rough every time they seem to hit a roadblock with timely adjustments and with pedigree of a champion. They are becoming more and more lethal with precision when counterattacking any style of play and that would only serve them well against any opponent waiting in the pipeline should they make it further into the playoffs.
So yeah, this article served its purpose and I am all onboard. Thanks for the great piece.
Buba,
Thanks for the compliments and the terrific response. You’ve become one of everybody’s favorite commentators on this blog. The issues you raise about how the Lakers are evolving and reacting during the first two rounds of the Bubble playoffs have echoed a lot of what I have been thinking. We’ve done a great job to this point against two teams with very different offenses the NBA cognoscenti thought were serious threats to take us down. Yet, we met those challenges and rebounded perfectly after opening game upsets. I still have the Lakers in 5 against the Rockets and we can take a big step toward making that an inevitability tonight.
I just finished an excellent article by Zach Lowe for ESPN talking about how the Lakers have ‘messed’ with James Harden and how their defensive and offensive adjustments have been in perfect sync. As a rabid fan, there’s no doubt I have a tendency to be impatient and, based on the regular season, unsure of Vogel and his staff’s ability to make changes in the fast pace of the playoffs. But in retrospect, I must admit Frank and the Lakers’ coaching staff has done a great job so far and deserves my thanks and kudos.
Yes on differ guys against differ teams. Basically our 4th “D” was great.
Another interesting aspect of why the Rocket small ball style of play is unique is other teams go big or go small to try and force teams to matchup with them. When a team is beating them by going big, they’ll go small to try and force the other team to match them and take out their big men. Or when a team is beating them by going small, they’ll go big and try to force the other team to put in some bigs to counter their going small.
With the Rockets, they’re not trying to get their opponents to change how they’re playing. They want teams to stay big because that plays right into their hands. They believe they always have the advantage if the opponent goes small because that’s what they do and they have the best talent for that. Unfortunately for them, when the Lakers go small and play the same way as the Rockets do, they have a better team because of James and Davis. That’s why the Lakers need to play small against the Rockets.
Looking at the Lakers next two likely opponments, which are the Clippers in the Western Conference Finals and either the Celtics, Raptors, or Heat in the NBA Finals, there’s a strong case to be made to play those teams the same as they playeed the Rockets last night because all three of those teams like to clog the middle against the Lakers to prevent LeBron and AD from getting to the rim.
That’s why Frank changing styles for the Rockets is so important. It’s probably the right strategy against the Clippers, Celtics, Raptors, or Heat. Whomever we play from the East is also going to featre a stretch center who shoots the three-ball. Welcome to the new NBA.