How Lakers’ New Five-Out Sets Will Unleash The Beast In Anthony Davis

Darvin Ham’s new five-out sets will dramatically change how the Los Angeles Lakers play by making it easier to get the ball to Anthony Davis sooner, more often, and where he’ll have space and freedom to attack.

Strategically, five-out sets are positionless basketball since all five players begin behind the 3-point line, which makes it the perfect offensive scheme to accommodate Anthony Davis’ desire to play fewer minutes at center. Tactically, five-out sets give a trailing Anthony Davis the ball where he’s flanked by four 3-point shooters and has options to take a wide open three or beat his man 1-on-1 for an easy layup or dunk or drive-and-dish three.

Better shooters and five-out sets should give the Lakers a chance to reduce the negative 20–25 ppg 3-point shooting differential that forces them to dominate made-free-throws and points-in-the-paint to keep games close.
The Lakers will still run four-out sets when Jaxson Hayes plays beside Anthony Davis but five-out sets will require a stretch big, which is why there is a good chance Christian Wood could emerge as the fifth starter.

While it’s too early to judge the impact of new five-out sets, the Lakers are taking and making a lot more 3-point shots so far this preseason but also suffering a troubling decline in made free throws and points in the paint. The challenge for the Lakers in switching from four-out to five-out sets will be to reduce their negative 3-point scoring differential without impacting their positive made-free-throws and points-in-the-paint differentials.

Let’s listen first to Darvin Ham explain why he wants the Lakers to switch to five-out sets and then look at how the team’s new five-out sets unleash the beast in Anthony Davis and are the perfect fit for the rest of the team.

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Why Darvin Ham Wants to Switch to Five-Out Sets

Darvin Ham is switching from four-out to five-out sets to take advantage of the Lakers’ improved 3-point shooting and accommodate Anthony Davis’ desire to play more power forward and less center during regular season.

Last season, the Lakers played four-out sets with four shooters behind the 3-point line and the fifth player in the dunker spot under the rim because they didn’t have enough proven good 3-point shooters to play five-out sets.
Four-out sets meant that Davis would either get the ball via a pick-and-roll play in the paint or by isolating him on the wing, where he would often be double-teamed. There were times teams could make AD disappear.

By switching to five-out sets, the Lakers can easily get the ball to Anthony Davis earlier in the shot clock, more often during the game, and in a spot where he can deliver the maximum damage as a scorer and playmaker.
The examples shown in the above video show how the five-out sets make it easier to get the ball to Davis with time, space, and freedom to attack the defense and how difficult it is to double him with shooters on the wings.

Darvin Ham has said he would like Anthony Davis to take three 3-point shots per half or six per game going forward. So far this preseason, AD has taken six threes and made three in 26.7 minutes in two preseason games. Last season, AD averaged 17.2 shot attempts and took 1.3 threes per game. While he’s only played limited minutes in two preseason games, Davis is on pace to increase his shot attempts to 22.6 and his threes to 8.0 per game.

Darvin Ham wants to run five-out sets because they are the quickest and easiest way to give Anthony Davis the increased floor spacing, freedom, touches, and shots he needs to become the very best version of himself.

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How Five-Out Sets Unleash Beast in Anthony Davis

Darvin Ham and the Los Angeles Lakers smartly avoided the controversy over whether Anthony Davis plays center or power forward by adopting new five-out half court offensive sets that are essentially positionless.

Once Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office agreed to extend Anthony Davis to be the face of the franchise, Darvin Ham was given responsibility to upgrade the team’s offense to unleash the beast in Anthony Davis.
The result is a positionless five-out set where the AD has the ball at the top of the key, flanked left and right by 3-point shooters on the wing and corner that makes it easier to get AD the ball sooner and more often than before.

We’ve already seen in the two preseason games Anthony Davis has played how effective he is playing the top in the five-out sets. The big difference is how much easier it is to get the ball to him earlier in the 24-second clock. Once there’s no fast break opportunity, the point guard gives the ball to a trailing Davis via a dribble hand-off and he’s ready to shoot or attack at the top of the key with four shooters poised to keep help defenders honest.

Besides getting the ball earlier and more often, Anthony Davis will get an opportunity to be much more of a playmaker in these five-out sets as any help will immediately open up one of his teammates for an open three.
If there’s a weakness in Davis’ game, it’s he doesn’t have the playmaking chops that a Nikola Jokic has, having a career average of only 2.4 assists per game. With five-out sets, AD could have his first 4 assists per game season.

Darvin Ham’s new five-out sets are a major game changer in that they’re going to give Anthony Davis more touches and shots than he’s ever had as a Laker. Those opportunities should unleash the beast in Anthony Davis.

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Why Five-Out Sets Are Perfect for Lakers’ Roster

The Lakers’ switch from four-out sets to five-out sets is not only going to unleash the beast in Anthony Davis but also the beasts in LeBron James, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, and Christian Wood.

Make no mistake, thanks to the joint leadership and vision of Rob Pelinka and Darvin Ham, the Lakers finally have enough 3-point shooting to run the modern five-out sets that most of the NBA already successfully run.
The NBA today is a drive-and-dish league and the hardest teams to stop or slow down defensively are the teams loaded with dead-eye shooters who can rain threes or attack the paint to dish or score when challenged.

While five-outs are the ideal half-court offensive sets to unleash the beast in Anthony Davis, they’re also a perfect fit for players who can shoot the three ball and put the ball on the floor and get into the paint if challenged. Imagine LeBron James at the head of the five-out surrounded by four lethal 3-point shooters. Or Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, or Christian Wood. Near every Lakers players is a perfect fit for 5-out sets.

Frankly, the impact of the improved 3-point shooting and newly deployed five-out sets has already been easy to see in the Lakers’ three preseason games. Ham has also complemented the new sets with more off ball action. Watching Darvin and his coaching staff, who up to now had earned most of their praise for great progress in the player development area, starting to show their chops in the half court offense X’s and O’s is encouraging.

What we’ve been watching over the past year has been the evolution of a bold, new, modernized and sustainable championship-driven vision Rob Pelinka and Darvin Ham have embraced for the Los Angeles Lakers.