Dominant size at every position was how the Lakers won the 2020 NBA championship in the bubble, playing a jumbo starting lineup that averaged 6′ 8″ or 2 inches taller at all five positions than the average NBA team.
Watching this season’s undersized version of those Lakers consistently lose the rebounding and points-in-the-paint battles will hopefully force the front office to reprioritize their roster building strategy to focus on getting bigger. What had been a fearsome small-ball-on-steroids attack that dominated at both ends of the court in the bubble has somehow evolved into undersized micro-ball lineups with Anthony Davis or LeBron James as the only big.
Positional size is not about prioritizing size over needed basketball skillsets. It’s about building a roster with players who are just as good at shooting, passing, rebounding, and defending as any at their position but are bigger. Having a size advantage at every position is game changing at both ends of the court, as Lakers’ opponents discovered in the bubble. The Lakers dominated the boards and paint playing two bigs and small-ball-on-steroids.
While size matters in the NBA, just being big is not enough and players need quickness, foot speed, and physicality to play and defend their position and not be constantly hunted by teams and played off the floor defensively. Heading into this summer, the Lakers’ top priority after hiring a head coach and trading Russell Westbrook should be to return to their winning strategy of positional size advantage when rebuilding around LeBron and AD.
Positional size is about creating a team-wide size advantage that translates into opposing teams getting worn out fighting against bigger players and frustrated as they give up more points, rebounds, blocked shots, and steals. It’s also about not just about size alone; it’s about how a player uses size. LeBron James and Anthony Davis, for example, both play bigger than their physical measurements as do players like P.J. Tucker and Bruce Brown.
Let’s take a look at why positional size is so important to the Lakers, how more positional size will impact the team offensively and defensively, and why greater positional size is the key to the purple and gold winning #18.
Why Is Positional Size Such a Key Factor in Lakers’ Rebuild?
Restoring the positional size advantage that helped them win the 2020 NBA championship should be the Los Angeles Lakers top priority this summer. Positional size is the strategic wild card the Lakers need to fully embrace.
The last two year’s injury plagued seasons should have convinced the Lakers’ front office that playing injury-prone Anthony Davis or 37-year old LeBron James extensively at center was not a smart strategic move to make. James at the four and Anthony at the five leave the Lakers undersized at both positions since at 6′ 9″ James is 1 inch shorter and at 6′ 10″ Davis 2 inches shorter than today’s average NBA power forward and center.
But were the Lakers to acquire a new enter like 6′ 11″ Myles Turner or 7′ 0″ Isaiah Hartenstein and move 6′ 10″ Anthony Davis to the four and 6′ 9″ LeBron James to the three, they’d have a size edge at all three positions. That’s why the smart way for the Lakers to get bigger is by adding a 6′ 11″ to 7′ 1″ center and moving 6′ 9″ James and 6′ 10″ Davis down a position rather than playing the four and five and adding size with a bigger small forward.
Making positional size part of the roster building strategy reflects that players at all positions have been and will continue to get bigger and their wingspans longer so it makes sense to prioritize size when the rest is equal. The other thing to remember is it’s how the player plays that matters more than his height measurement. Individual motor, vertical leap, and physicality can empower players to play greater than their physical size.
While LeBron James and Anthony Davis have the skill and talent to play bigger than they are, their best positions are most likely small and power forward where they have a definite size advantage over their competition.
How Will Positional Size Will Impact Lakers Offensively?
Offensively, having positional size advantage should enable the Lakers to dominate the paint, score at the rim, and control the boards, playing both a versatile bully-ball two-bigs and small-ball-on-steroids style of basketball.
Restoring the Lakers’ positional size advantage on offense starts with a young modern two-way center to start games to enable Anthony Davis to start at the four in regular season games like during the championship year. Starting a 6′ 11″ to 7′ 1″ young stud at center and sliding Anthony Davis and LeBron James down a position to power forward and small forward would give the Lakers a significant 2″ advantage at all three front court positions.
The only tweak the Lakers should make is adding a modern center who can not only block shots and protect the rim but can also stretch the court with 3-point shooting and defend well enough not to get played off the floor. Acquiring a modern two-way center like Turner or Hartenstein could also limit the wear-and-tear and potential injuries due to Anthony Davis having to deal with the raw physicality of playing center in the regular season.
By adding a stretch five center like Myles Turner or Isaiah Hartenstein, the Lakers can upgrade their positional size advantage in the front court and also improve their shooting, rebounding, and points-in-the-paint issues.
How Will Positional Size Impact Lakers Defensively?
Last season, the Lakers’ lack of positional size hurt them defensively in three areas: lack of front court size to control the boards, shot blockers to protect the rim, and guards or wings with the size to defend paint post ups.
Defensively, the Lakers need to get bigger at every position. They need a true starting center with the size to physically bang with Jokic, Embiid, Towns, and other NBA centers who are too big or too physical for Davis. They need bigger small forwards who can guard taller wing scorers like Durant, Antetokounmpo, and Doncic. And they need bigger guards who can switch everything and not be constantly hunted as easy prey on defense.
Adding a defensive center who can protect the rim and defend in space, a proven wing defender who can guard bigger wing scorers, and bigger guards who can switch everything will give Lakers a positional size edge. They may start games with a traditional two bigs lineup with Davis at the four and the new center at the five and close games by replacing the center with an elite wing defender and finishing with small-ball-on-steroids.
Defensively, having positional size advantage should enable the Lakers to transform poor rebounding, weak shot blocking, and easily hunted defenders from being their greatest weaknesses to their greatest strengths.
Why Could Positional Size Be Key to Lakers’ Championship?
Dominant positional size was the path the Los Angeles Lakers took to win their 17th NBA championship and, with a few modernizing tweaks, should be the same strategy they follow when rebuilding their roster this summer.
In many ways, the Lakers have bought in on the league-wide lack of respect for what the center position means to winning in an NBA where Rudy Gobert can win DPOY but can be played off the court by teams going small. The minutes and games that have been wasted with the forgettable and mostly over-the-hill rent-a-centers the Lakers have deployed over the last few seasons is almost criminal. Centers still matter, just like midrange shots.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis give the Lakers an advantage no other NBA team has in that they have two superstars who can play and defend all five positions on the court. They’re solid gold roster building wild cards. Getting bigger by adding a center instead of a forward enables the Lakers to take advantage of their stars’ versatility while reducing their workload and limiting some of the low post physicality that can lead to injuries.
Next to hiring a new head coach and trading Westbrook, bringing in a young modern two-way center to start alongside James and Davis would give the Lakers a significant size advantage at every position.
The Lakers four most important players are the three players who will start alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis and the first player off the bench.
Last season, those four players were supposed to be Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, and Malik Monk. Russ was a disaster, THT regressed, Nunn never played, and Monk surpassed all expectations.
Because of poor play, the Lakers often had two or three minimum salary players filling key starting and rotation roles, which was why they were also outgunned by the competition.
The key this season is getting four quality rotation players who can shoot and play defense but have plus positional size. We need a young two-way modern center who can protect the rim and stretch the floor. We need a couple of bigger wing defenders who can guard bigger wing scorers like Kawhi and Durant. And we need a pair of bigger 3&D guards who can stop easy midrange post ups by bigger wing scorers.
We can get two rotation players in a Westbrook trade, one in a THT trade, and two or three via the full MLE and BAE. The key to the summer will be finding four or five legitimate rotation players to complement LeBron and AD. A great GM could pull this off. The big question is can Rob pull this off.
Tom, I agree with both you and Jamie. But besides addressing the size issue I would also like to see the role players insert their will into the game instead of just deferring to LeBron and AD. Too often the players look hesitant as if they are not sure what to do in certain situations thereby making the whole scheme look putrid. I want players who can unleash themselves and are not afraid to make a difference, a la Jordan Poole.
Thanks, Buba. I agree with you about the role players often being too passive. It’s one of the reasons why I’m hoping Ham will emulate what Bud has done and focus more on ball and player movement designed to get threes and layups and dunks and less isolation plays. Keep everybody engaged and moving as the norm. You can always iso LeBron or AD when they have advantages. That takes away the built in hesitancy that heavy superstar iso offenses cause role players to be passive.
Great points, Tom. Couldn’t have said it any better.
So you’re saying that everyone outside Lebron and AD needs to be upgraded. Whoa man, that’s a keen observation indeed. You keep throwing out those kindsa insights and you may be getting a call from Jeannie any day now.
Solid article LT. As you know I don’t need to see the stretch five box checked but won’t gripe if it does. Need a quality big who can deter shots at the rim, set screens and roll, and grab boards. One of the things that smacks totally true is that you don’t always have to be big to play big. PJ Tucker, Draymond Green and others of their ilk prove that every season. A lot of Laker issues seemed to stem from a lack of guts and heart last season, nobody took the challenge to push themselves or the team to another level. THT is a perfect example of a guy with the kind of physical tools you like to see in a NBA player but lacks that extra chip that separates them from just another big dude in the court.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Jamie. The Lakers clearly need to upgrade their 3rd through 6th players. Fortunately, I think they have the chips and path to do it by trading Russ, THT, and the two picks and hard capping to get $14.4M to spend on free agents.
Your point about players utilizing their assets to play bigger really applies when you look at P.J. Tucker and THT, who not only has to learn how to shoot but also how to play big at both ends. Part of the character test we should apply to candidates has to include being andplaying big.
Lakers need to get big across the board and adding a center and moving AD and LeBron down a position is the quickest way to get bigger in the front court. The Pacers trade is how we get bigger in the backcourt. The key could be the $10M MLE.
I still love going after a young physical center like Hartenstein, who’s kind of an Alex Caruso/Austin Reaves type of player at center. Works hard, plays bigger than he really is, has potential to become a stretch five since he shoots the three at 38% on low volume. Averages 1 block and 1 steal per game in just 19 minutes. He could just start games like JaVale with maybe a big wing like Grant or Hayward closing the game.
I’ve been kind of fascinated with the idea of prioritizing our needs by getting a modern center and big wing defender, ideally Hartenstein and maybe Hayward. Both would benefit from sharing the fifth starter/closer role with Hartenstein starting and Hayward closing. This summer would be an unqualified success if we hire Ham, trade Russ to get Hayward, and sign Hartenstein with the MLE. Fill those two big needs should be our top priority.
Isiah Hartenstein is one heck of a young center I would go for. That guy keeps impressing me the more I watch him play. But are the Clippers going to let us have him? Your reference to JaVale’s role is exactly what I envisioned and makes a ton of sense.
Aloha Tom,
For me it’s putting players in their best position to succeed and help the team. For me Lebrons best position is power forward. He is so much stronger then most players that an inch or two doesn’t matter. Like Jamies point its how they perform in the position is what counts, no matter how twll they are. While age hasnt affected Lebron much on offense, it has really hurt him on the defensive end. He cant keep up with these big wings anymore. I mean it was telling when we played the Clippers and in crunch time Russ was guarding PG. And we saw that all season. I want to preserve Lebron and having him chase these youn guys all over the court will wear him down. Defensively last year he was at his best when he could sit back and play free safety. He was able to use his high IQ and it resulted in a lot of steals and deflections. As for AD he is one of if not best defensive centers in the NBA. His injuries weren’t do to playing center. They were typical basketball injuries. He does just fine at 6’10. If he had played enough games to qualify he would have tied Jarren Jackson Jr as shot block leader at 2.3 a game. But offense is the main reason i want to keep him in the post. Over the last 2 seasons his jump shot has fallen off and his 3 point shot has fallen off a cliff. He was never great from 3 but 18%. isn’t going to cut it. The one area he still dominates is paint scoring. His combination of strenth and foot work make him unstoppable at times. i hope he can get his jump shot back but for me i cant build a roster assuming he will, after 2 years of poor shooting. This is why my main target would be a wing defender with size. when you have two guys that are the best at their positions, i want to leave them there, and fill other holes on the team.
We’ll have to A2D, Michael. While I think it’s important to get a bigger 3&D wing, I also think it’s just as important to get an elite shot blocker at center, ideally a stretch five. I think we have the assets to get both this summer. I want Lakers to be able to play big or small.
Give me Hartenstein and Grant and it doesn’t matter who starts, we will have filled our top two defensive needs. Could even vary who starts depending on the matchup. I might even be willing to live with a small back court if we had some shot blocking and wing defense.
I think we need to be able to adapt. How we start a game does not mean that’s how we finish a game. What I liked about the title winning team is we started with vets (Bradley, Green, LeBron, AD, McGee) and used youth and size off the bench (Caruso, KCP, Kuzma, Rondo, and Howard). Those were the main rotation guys in the regular season and we did a good job adapting combos of those players into workable line ups over the course of the playoffs. We need that kind of flexibility going forward. Might not get all the way there this summer or even next season but that has got to be the goal of the front office.
I think AD’s best use is not at the five, though. He’s always been better on defense as an elite weak-side shot blocker and not a primary rim-deterrent. He can’t muscle guys off the block and isn’t a great box out guy. He uses his athleticism and length. What I like about keeping Dwight and adding Hartenstein is having dudes on the roster who don’t mind mixing it up, set screens at an elite level, roll hard to the rim, and box out at a high level. That’s what we absolutely have to get out of the center position next season.
Hartenstein is an unrestricted free agent so the Lakers can sign him with part or all of their MLE, which is $6.1M unless we decide to hardcap, in which case it’s $10.1M plus a $4.0M BAE.
I would use whatever part of the MLE we need to sign Hartenstein. He could anchor the center position and would likely only start games so his 19 mpg last season would be similar this year.
I would think we could get him for around $8M per year, more than the $6.4M taxpayer MLE, which would be the main competition.
So Tom, you don’t consider AD an elite shot blocker? 2.3 per game would have been number one in the league if he played enough games. I just don’t know why you would want to spend our MLE on a 2nd string center that couldn’t beat out Zubac when we have one of the best defensive center in the league. I like Hartenstein. I wanted us to sign him last year. He is a great back up. But I’m not anxious to see LeBron get worn out chasing after wings.
Aloha, Michael.
I do consider AD to be a terrific shot blocker and I still favor closing games with him at the five. However, I do worry about his durability and there are bigger centers who aren’t good matchups for him.
I think it makes a lot of sense for the Lakers to have a quality starting center like Hartenstein at the five during the regular season. His 7′ 0″ size gives the entire front court lineup a positional size advantage. That Hartenstein can shoot the three is another plus.
To close games, I would love to have a great 3&D wing like Grant or Hayward who could finish the game going small. Were we able to get Grant and decide to go small with AD at the five to start and close games, I would be fine.
Overall, I think we need a young dynamic center because that’s the best way to become dominant in size. But I also agree with you that we don’t want LeBron chasing threes, especially during the regular season, so we do need that bigger 3&D wing.
I think our lack of rim protection was a bigger defensive issue than our lack of big wing defender. Maybe I will change my mind down the road but that’s where I am right now.
I want the versatility of being able to play big or small. No more Jordans and Drummonds. Time Lakers invest in a center who can make LeBron and AD better. That’s Hartenstein, my top target for our MLE this summer.
Bottom line, I want a bully-ball team that dominates sizewise and physicality wise at every position. I think that was the key to winning in the bubble and, with modern tweaks, is how we need to play going forward The only way we get positional size advantage is with a real center who allows AD and LeBron to play the four and three..
I have to disagree with your assessment of AD Jamie. As a center last year he had as many blocks per game as he did as a PF for us. He matched his career average in blocks. I’ve also seen him dominate star center like Jokic and Embid. Last year Embid went 9 for 20 against him while AD had 31 points, 12 boards and 4 blocks. He also is our closer at the 5. It’s the offensive side that really makes me want him at center. His jump shot and 3 point shooting hasn’t been there for the last two years. He does most of his scoring inside. My bigger concern though is LeBron. Father Time has not been kind to him on the defensive side of the ball. He is not the same guy he was a few years ago. Frank hid him on defense last year. Even crunch time you never saw LeBron taking on small forward or big wings. Russ often drew that assignment which is sad. The value LeBron brought us on defense was when he could sit back and play free safety. I really don’t want LeBron chasing young guys like BI around all season. That would definitely wear him down. If LeBron could still bring the defense it wouldn’t matter as much to me, but he has proven that he cant. Besides we don’t have many assets. Using our MLE for a center when we have AD, doesn’t make much sense to me. I also would keep Howard around and look to bring back Damion Jones. I could see AD sliding to the 4 when LeBron rests but I want him at the 5 when LeBron is out there.
I understand your point about LeBron guarding bigger wing scorers. There are times when I think our best use of our two draft picks could be to trade THT, Nunn, and the two picks for Jerami Grant. Then sign Hartenstein with the MLE and you solved your two biggest defensive issues. Then you go AD at the 5, LeBron at the 4, and Grant at the 3 with Hartenstein coming off the bench. That could work.
However, that could make it hard to move Russ, which is probably more important use of the pick to at least get quality in return. What do we do about a point guard then? Bottom line, I see a clear path to the Lakers getting Hartenstein. With full MLE, they should be a lock to sign him.
It’s the trade scenarios that bother me. Who is the small forward you’re going to get who would be better defending those threes than Anthony Davis? I agree LeBron can’t do that any more but there is nobody better in the league to shut down a three than AD. That’s why I’m not worried about running LeBron into the ground. He may start at the three but that’s not who he’s going to cover.
Here’s the problem. With so many holes in our roster and so little capital to fill them…it’s gonna be extremely difficult to run the gauntlet that has become The Western Conference. Yeah, you need size to matchup with big wings like Luka & Kawhi (he still playing?…lol). But you also need quick dudes for when you inevitably face Steph, Jah, & D-Book in the playoffs as well. Brogdon & Heild don’t want nunna that smoke. It’s easy to build a roster to get through the regular season; we woulda been a shoe-in for the playoffs with this season’s squad albeit for the injuries. But the post-season is a different animal.
I think as long as we have a healthy, rested, and motivated LeBron James and Anthony Davis, we should have a realistic shot at winning a championship. I don’t think that has changed in the last 18 months. We would still have to be lucky as that is another criteria to winning it all. So I’m not concerned with all the negative talk about how there’s no way the Lakers can rebuild a championship roster. It won’t be impossible and may be difficult but it can be done.
I see our roster broken up into three groups: 5 starters, 5 backups, and 4 reserves with one open roster spot.
We have 2 of the 5 starters with LeBron and AD and 4 of the 4 reserves with Reaves, Johnson, Gabriel, and Howard. What we need are the other 3 starters and 5 backups. I would try and keep Nunn as 1 of the 5 backups, meaning we need 7 more players who are better than the 4 reserves: 3 starters and 4 backups.
I think we can trade Russ and THT for 3 or 4 rotation payers and sign 2 or 3 with our MLE and BAE. That’s 5 to 7 players via trade and free agency to fill the 7 openings in the roster. And 1 less player if we bought a second round pick in the draft.
At any rate, I believe we have a shot at adding 5 to 7 new players who will be major upgrades over what we had last year as non-superstar starters and rotation players.
Sooo…lets say all these dream scenarios magically come true and we end up with Hartenstein, Brogdon, Hield, & Grant, Or Wood, Eric Gordon, and whoever. Along with the dudes we found on the street this season. That squad won’t be favored over any of the current top 4 in The West in a 7 game series. No way. Only chance is if a team suffers a serious injury like MEM losing Jah in the middle of that series vs GSW. Lebron just simply isn’t that dude anymore who can carry a team on his back for 45 minutes of playoff basketball every other night. And we’ve only seen AD come close to being that dude ONE time in his entire career….that was in the impossible to duplicate Bubble environment. Needless to say, I just don’t see #18 happening next summer.
Considering where we are right now, I would have to agree that we would be a longshot to win #18 next season. But I would love to go insto the season with Buddy and Malcolm at guard, Grant at the three, LeBron at the four, and AD at the five with Hartenstein coming off the bench. I think that could be a championship team that go big with two bigs or small with small ball on steroids.
The problem to me is that next season could be our best opportunity to win #18 this decade so we really have no choice but to go all-in to win it next season. Will be a challenge for sure, like threading a needle to make it all work but there’s no other option realistically. Going to have to hope for some balancing of the luck from the basketball gods for sure.
That roster ain’t beating GSW, PHX, or MEM as currently constructed because they all have backcourts that’ll torch us every night with their quickness & superior ball movement. Not to mention their depth, versatility and continuity. We would have to seriously thread the needle to even have a shot. That means every trade & signing has to hit 100% (that never happens), all the new dudes need to adapt to LeBron (not easy to do), and the new coach needs to hit the ground running with everyone buying into his system. All that stuff coming to fruition in a single season is like trying to pass a camel through the eye of a needle (Bible reference…lol). Yeah…we have to make the moves and give it try but I feel like it’s just gonna make the rebuild that much harder in 2 years with no draft picks and a buncha old/slow dudes in the cupboard.