The ongoing internal debate over whether the Lakers should revert back to two-big model used to win the 2020 championship in the bubble will likely determine what kind of Lakers team we see once the 2023–24 season starts.
Whether to revert to playing two-bigs is a debate the Lakers would likely not be having if there were clear-cut starters at each position. Without five clear starters, the question becomes what’s the best strategy for this roster? While the competition in training camp and preseason could change who starts and who comes off the bench, the Lakers clearly would like to start two-bigs like they did during their 2020 championship run in the bubble.
Right now, the Lakers are looking to add a starting center who can stretch the floor and balance the skillsets of their other center Jaxson Hayes, whom they see as a traditional defensive center similar to Dwight Howard. The primary candidate to be the Lakers’ stretch center is Christian Wood, who’s still hoping to get an offer for more than the veteran’s minimum. Other possible candidates include Davis Bertans and Markieff Morris.
Should the Lakers not sign Wood or a player who could start at center, they would then likely opt to start Jaxson Hayes at the five with Anthony Davis returning to his preferred four, except when he closes games at the five.
While the Lakers consider Hayes to be a defensive center in the mode of Howard or McGee, Jaxson has potential as a 3-point shooter and shot 35% from deep the year before last, making 20 of 57 threes over 70 games.
If the Lakers don’t find a stretch center to sign, they could turn to a veteran defensive center like Bismack Biyombo, who could start next to Davis or come off the bench. Right now, they’re holding out for a stretch five center. The Lakers could also decide Hachimura was the best stretch five option and go with him and AD as the two-bigs. Finally, a still growing Vanderbilt might have worked hard this summer and improved his 3-point shot.
So let’s look at the push and the pros and cons of the Lakers reverting back to the two-bigs model of 2020 where Wood or Hayes would start at the five with Davis at the four until he takes over the five to close out the game.
The Push For Two-Bigs
For the second straight season, there’s a push for the Lakers to play two-bigs during the regular season like they did during their championship run in the bubble back with Davis at the four and Howard or McGee at the five.
Unfortunately, the disappointing play of Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant eliminated that option and forced the Lakers to go small during last year’s regular season with Anthony Davis at the five and LeBron James at the four. Needless to say, the roster’s lack of size at almost every position led to the Lakers being consistently outrebounded and struggling in the season and the playoffs to defend bigger players who were simply shooting over them.
One of the Lakers’ major goals this offseason was to fix their relative size disadvantage at every position by getting bigger in the backcourt, finding a second big to start at center, and moving James and Davis down a position. Lakers added size at point guard in 6′ 4″ Gabe Vincent and 6′ 6″ Jalen Hood-Schifino, at shooting guard in 6′ 7″ Maxwell Lewis, at small forward in 6′ 8″ Taurean Prince and 6′ 8″ Cam Reddish, and at center in 6′ 11″ Jaxson Hayes.
The Lakers’ desire to revert to the two-bigs model they used to win their 17th NBA championship in the bubble back in 2020 has them looking to add a more offensive oriented center like Christian Wood as their 14th player. With the Lakers signing Davis to a 3-year extension to lock him up for five years, they want to optimize the new face of the franchise, surround him with talent, and allow him to play his preferred power forward position.
Ironically, playing two-bigs gives the Lakers the opportunity to insert a front court player who can help the team improve their floor spacing by adding a lethal 3-point shooter at a position ripe for major mismatches. Starting a stretch five is probably the single easiest way for the Lakers to improve their team spacing as last season’s starting front court of James and Davis shot poorly from deep, shooting 32.1% and 25.7% respectively.
The push to play two-bigs has the Lakers essentially doubling down on their formula for winning by using size to dominate points-in-the-paint and made free throws and offset their not being a great 3-point shooting team.
The Pros For Two-Bigs
The pros for the Lakers playing two-bigs start with obvious advantages of being bigger at every position — more rebounds, points-in-the-paint, and made free throws — plus less wear-and-tear on superstars James and Davis.
Last season, the Lakers finished 6th in rebounding with 44.7 rebound per game but 25th in opponent rebounding by allowing 44.9 rebounds per game. In other words, the Lakers lost the rebounding battle last season. The hope would be by bringing in another 7-footer to start at the five and moving Anthony Davis down to the four and LeBron James down to the three, the Lakers would then be able to control the boards this season.
The same logic holds true for points-in-the-paint and made free throws. Last season, the Lakers finished 6th with 54.5 points-in-the-paint but 23rd by allowing 52.8 points-in-the-paint by opponents, a plus 1.7 differential. Last season, the Lakers’ 20.6 made free throws per game was 2nd while their 16.1 opponent free throws made was 1st in NBA. The Lakers hope playing two-bigs will increase points-in-the-paint and made free throws.
Playing two-bigs also gives the Lakers an opportunity to insert a modern stretch five center into their starting lineup who can stretch the floor and improve the team’s poor front court 3-point shooting by James and Davis. Adding Christian Wood or even a small ball five like Davis Bertans or Markieff Morris could significantly improve the Lakers’ floor spacing. There’s no reason Lakers playing two-bigs sacrifices 3-point shooting.
Finally, maybe the biggest reason the Lakers want to play two-bigs is to allow Anthony Davis to play his preferred position of power forward as he takes the baton from LeBron James and becomes the face of the franchise. The Lakers need to reduce their reliance on their two superstars, hopefully even embracing some load management by limiting them to 30 minutes per game. I know LeBron and AD hate load management but they need it.
Bottom line, the Lakers need to play two-bigs because it will improve their rebounding, points-in-the-paint, made free throws, and 3-point shooting and reduce reliance and workloads of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Cons Against Two-Bigs
The cons against the Lakers playing two-bigs revolve around how it would hurt their spacing, rely too much on Jaxson Hayes, move Anthony Davis away from the rim, and wear LeBron James out defending small forwards.
How another big affects the Lakers’ spacing will depend on which big. While the Lakers won the title in 2020 with non-shooters Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee starting at center, that may not work in today’s NBA. That’s why the Lakers want Christian Wood, whose great offensive skills, including lethal 3-point shooting, would modernize the team’s front court and actually help spread the court so LeBron and AD can attack the rim.
Spacing becomes a major issue if the Lakers cannot sign Christian Wood. Do they settle for a small ball five like Bertans or Morris? Or do they instead start Jaxson Hayes or a defensive center like Bismack Biyombo. While he may not be their first choice, the Lakers are confident that Jaxson Hayes can be their starting center and see him as very much in the mode of Dwight Howard or JaVale McGee. They’re counting on Jaxson Hayes.
The other major cons against two-bigs is that it moves Anthony Davis from the five, where he has been a dominant force at both ends of the court, and moves LeBron James to the three, where he’ll be challenged defensively. For the last three years, Anthony Davis and LeBron James have started at the five and four, partly because the Lakers just could not seem to find a starting quality center to pair with AD. There’s risk in changing positions.
Many observers believe center is Anthony Davis’ best position because he ends up playing closer to the basket and thus making a higher percentage of his shots. They especially worry that AD can no longer shoot the three. Meanwhile, there’s no question that power forward is a better position for 38-year old LeBron James to play than small forward. The last thing the Lakers want is LeBron chasing shooters around and through screens.
If the Lakers opt to play two-bigs, they’ll have to figure out how to deal with spacing, how to get Jaxson Hayes to fill the starting center role, and how to help LeBron James and Anthony Davis deal with changing positions.
