Last season, the Lakers proved the axiom that defense wins championships. This season Rob Pelinka has given the Lakers an arsenal of weapons so their high powered offense could be as good as their championship defense.
While the Lakers clearly gave up some rim protection by not bringing back McGee and Howard, they still have their best shot blocker and rim protector in Anthony Davis, who will be playing the five when they close out games. Meanwhile, the objective in basketball is still to put the ball in the basket more times than your opponent and the four players the Lakers added this offseason were dramatic offensive upgrades over the four they replaced.
1. Marc Gasol for JaVale McGee
While the individual stats don’t show it, the biggest move to transform the Lakers offense this offseason was replacing traditional center JaVale McGee with modern 3-point shooting and elite playmaking center Marc Gasol. Gasol’s ability to shoot and pass the ball from the top of the key will open the floor for Laker superstars James and Davis to attack the rim and create opportunities for cutters like Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma to get easy baskets.
While Gasol only averaged 7.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 26.4 minutes per game vs. McGee’s 6.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 16.6 minutes per game, Marc shot 38.5% on 3.4 attempted threes per game. While Marc Gasol won’t personally add many points, his ability to stretch defenses and pass to cutters will transform the Lakers offensively and give teammates better spacing and opportunities to score than last season.
2. Dennis Schroder for Rajon Rondo
The second biggest offseason move Pelinka made was trading for Dennis Schroder to replace Rajon Rondo and give the Lakers a legitimate starting point guard in his prime to take the playmaking load off of LeBron James. While Schroder is not the elite playmaker Rondo was, he’s a much better scorer, 3-point shooter, and on ball defender. He also adds an element of speed at both ends of the court the Lakers did not have last season.
Finishing second in the 6MOY competition, Schroder averaged 18.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in 30.8 minutes per game last season vs. Rondo’s 7.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 20.5 minutes per game. While the Lakers may miss Playoff Rondo’s clutch savvy, Schroder is 7 years younger, will give the Lakers the third scorer they’ve been missing, make life easier for LeBron in the starting lineup, and run the team when he rests.
3. Wesley Matthews for Danny Green
Like Gasol for McGee, Matthews for Green was more about saving money and cap space and replacing a player whose productivity declined for a player who brought more offensive potential and versatility to the Lakers. By replacing Danny Green with Wesley Matthews, Rob Pelinka was able to exchange an expensive veteran shooting guard for one on a minimum contract and to steal a starting player from the rival Milwaukee Bucks.
Matthews averaged 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 24.4 minutes per game last season for the Bucks while Green posted 8.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 24.8 minutes per game for the Lakers. While Matthews’ 36.4% on 4.4 threes per game is almost identical to Green’s 36.7% on 4.8 threes per game, Wes was the better and quicker defender against big wing scorers like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
4. Montrezl Harrell for Dwight Howard
Replacing veteran backup center Dwight Howard with the 26-year old explosive, high scoring reigning 6MOY Montrezl Harrell could turn out to be Rob Pelinka’s crowning achievement of the offseason for the Lakers. While the Lakers will miss Howard’s elite rim protection, the opportunity to steal Trezz from the rival Clippers was just too tempting to pass and gives the team’s bench a needed boost in energy and scoring when LeBron rests.
Harrell averaged 18.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 27.8 minutes per game with the Clippers last season while Howard averaged 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 18.9 minutes per game with the Lakers. While Trezz is not the defender Dwight was, he will be playing alongside an elite defender and shot blocker in Anthony Davis and should continue being a high powered bench scorer who regularly dominates reserve centers.
Comparing the offensive productivity of the four players Rob added to that of the players they replaced is revealing. Gasol, Schroder, Matthews, and Harrell averaged a combined 52.4 points, 19.5 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game. Meanwhile, McGee, Rondo, Green, and Howard averaged 29.2 points, 19.3 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game. The four new players Rob Pelinka added to the Lakers posted 79% more points and 39% more assists.
That added offense from these four players translates into 23.2 more points and 2.9 more assists per game for a Lakers team that ranked 11th in the league with 113.4 points per game and 10th with 25.4 assists per game. Adding those numbers to last year’s averages would give the Lakers 136.6 points and 28.3 assist per game, both of which would rank first in the league and show how Rob Pelinka has weaponized the team’s offensive arsenal.
It’s going to be interesting to see where the Lakers offense ranks this season. Most of last season, we were ranked in the top five. The poor play in the bubble dropped us down to 11.
If we add the additional points and assists that these four players added to the offense, we would lead the league in both categories. Definitely are lacking some rim protection when Marc and Trezz are in the game so we need to make up for it at the other end.
Good one LT, we added a lot of scoring potential, that much is sure. There are some concerns as top how we’ll overcome the defensive talent and I don’t think we’ll see a radical paradigm shift in the Lakers identity as a response. Losing DPOYs and replacing them with less able defenders who can shoot a little better will be one of the challenges the coaching staff has to deal with this season.
Howard vs. Gasol: Gasol will be the key. We’re going to need him to bang, as he’s dine his whole career, and do it well. His outside shooting will be nice, it will help open up the floor but I honestly think it’s his passing that is the best offensive weapon in his arsenal. It will allow there to be a lot more cutting, introduce a high-low game we didn’t see much of last season and let LeBron do a little less setting up in the half court. Gasol will be brought up to speed at a pace befitting a player of his age and tenure in the NBA so I expect to see him sit out some back-to-backs or if he has little, nagging injuries.
McGee vs. Harrell: McGee contributed unflinchingly in a role where his minutes were often played in tandem with AD starting at the 4 at the beginning of the game and after the half. It was rare to see him close out games and one of the best things about JaVale was his ‘team before me’ mentality. We’ll certainly get an energy and movement upgrade in Trezz but there are other intangibles I’m not certain how they’ll sort out yet. I see a vaguely similar role for Trezz in that I expect him to be the first big off the bench and spot start for Gasol at times. Unless Frank throws the league a curve ball and spot starts Cacock in those scenarios, lol.
Schroder vs. Rondo: This one has me more than a little worried. There’s no denying that we got younger and better at scoring in this exchange but we really lost a lot of intangibles both on and off the court. Rondo brings something to the court few players do: the ability to breakdown plays in the moment and se how they will unfold. It’s an elite level talent that very few in the NBA possess. Schroder does not have it. He’s a faster, maybe stronger and a better shooter. But is he the winner that Rondo has proven himself to be? That remains to be seen.
Green vs. Matthews: I feel like this has the appearance of a wash but that the numbers will bear out that Green is the player of more impact. We’ll see, I like Wes’ game, I think he could be a huge get if he can be the defender that Green was and shoot as well, if not better, than Danny did. Green has defensive instincts that helped win playoff 4 series, Wes hasn’t flashed that skillset…yet. I feel the equalizer is the Achilles injury Matthews suffered a couple years back. It’s certainly the reason he comes as cheaply as he did. Danny Green is a 3 time NBA champ, hard to replicate that experience by shooting a little better but we’ll see.
While we certainly need to outscore opponents I think it bears pointing out that one of the ways we did that best last year was on the break. Those breaks were generally fueled and created by defensive stops. One of my questions as we enter the season is how that looks this season. We still have AD, Caruso, KCP, Kuzma and of course LeBron James who can activate heightened defensive prowess almost at will. That’s no small thing. Adding Gasol improves the defensive skill and intensity. I think Wes will be relatively equal to what Green brought. It’s a bit of a drop off after that, especially in swapping Schroder for Rondo.
The great thing about sport though is that every season offers new opportunities to show us all something new. To show the world you are that good, that you can elevate and play at an even higher level than previously assumed. So, in that regard, I enter the season with high hopes and tempered expectations. The true key is can we keep our impact players healthy and able to contribute. That was one of the big reasons for our success last season: no major injuries. So, if that can be repeated, I like our chances against anyone.
Thanks, Jamie. We’re certainly not going to become the Rockets, unless we continue to rain threes like we did in preseason.
But I do think we’re going to see major changes in how we play at both ends of the court.
While I like the moves Rob made, I do share your concern about our interior defense and rim protection when AD is not in the game. While we’ll compensate for it with a lot more points, we’ll miss the rim protection McGee and Howard provided. We’ll be a better but different team.
I agree with you that Gasol’s passing will be a big factor but it’s his 3-point gravity that opens up all those lanes for cutters so you can’t discount it. It’s going to be the catalyst that unleashes LeBron and AD. Marc’s the one who’s going to have the biggest impact on how we play.
I’ve been a little disappointed in Trezz in preseason as he’s clearly not a rim protector and seems to be taking too many floaters and not enough devastating dunks that I felt were his trademark play but it’s just preseason and his plus/minus has been good. Need more from him.
I think Wes may be a plus for the Lakers at both ends. He’s a better 1-on-1 defender and better 3-point shooter in my mind. He and Talen may take minutes away from Kzuma as it’s not going to be easy playing 11 men.
Like you pointed out, great as our depth is, we’ll go as far as LeBron and AD take us, which is why I think we’ve a great chance to win #18 this season. And wouldn’t it be sweet if we did it in the Finals against the Celtics?