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Montrezl Harrell

Ten Gifts I’m Hoping the Los Angeles Lakers Give their Fans This Christmas!

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The Los Angeles Lakers have been a bright beacon of hope for basketball fans throughout this dark and stormy 2020 so I’m hoping they’ll bring even more joy as we struggle through this Christmas without family and friends.

Best wishes to everybody in the Lakerholics family. May you enjoy a warm and wonderful holiday with loved ones safe and secure in your hearts if not with you. Here are the ten gifts I’m hoping the Lakers will give us tonight:

1. A Win Over the Dallas Mavericks

Neither team wants to start the season 0–2 so both will be looking to rebound from disappointing opening games. Dallas lost in Phoenix 106–102. Lakers lost to Clippers 116–109 after championship ring ceremony.

2. Less Than 100 Points for Mavs

Lakers defense was AWOL against the Clippers, especially when PG went supernova late in the third quarter and throughout the fourth quarter. Lakers need to show they can still play elite D despite the chance in centers.

3. 35 Points for LeBron James

LeBron James will pass Kobe Bryant and become the NBA’s all-time leading Christmas day scorer in if he scores 35 points in today’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. Kobe leads with 395 points while LeBron has 361 points.

4. Redemption Game for Marc Gasol

Gasol probably had the worst first game as a Laker of any elite player who donned a purple and gold uniform, posting 0 points, 0 rebounds, and 1 assist in 12 foul plagued minutes. Marc needs to redeem his rep tonight.

5. Bounce Back game for Wes

Brought in to replace Danny Green’s shooting and defense, Wes struggled mightily in the Lakers loss to the Clippers, going 0–2 from deep and getting torched on D by Kawhi and PG. Wes needs big bounce back game tonight.

6. Triple-Double for Dennis

Schroder got the start at point guard he wanted after coming off the bench for the Thunder the last two seasons and finishing second for the 6MOY award last season. Time for Dennis the Menace to solidify his starting role.

7. Double-Double for Trezz

Harrell had an excellent opening game for the Lakers, posting 17 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to the Clippers, his former team. Looking for Trezz to continue to show he can man the Lakers’ backup center role tonight.

8. Come Back Night for Alex

Alex had a poor night shooting and handling the ball against the Clippers, clanking his first three triples before finally making one and turning the ball over three times in critical situations. AC needs a big come back night.

9. More Talen Horton-Tucker

Talen had an excellent opening game posting the team’s best net rating and second best plus/minus rating but only played 11 minutes. We need to see THT get at least 15 minutes in tonight’s game as the backup point guard.

10. Everybody Safe and Healthy

Everybody remembers how LeBron’s groin injuring in the Christmas day blowout of the Warriors two years ago derailed the Lakers season. The last thing the Lakers want to see is any player get injured in tonight’s game.

How Rob Pelinka Has Weaponized the Los Angeles Lakers Offensive Arsenal

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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.

5 Things: 3rd Preseason Game, Same Result

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With one odd starting line up and an empty arena the Lakers started off sluggish against the new-look Phoenix Suns. LeBron looked a little rusty, Booker looked like the spectacular scorer he his and in the end…it didn’t matter. We won our 3rd preseason affair 112-107. Phoenix looks like a team ready to move up in the NBA hierarchy and one of the big non-Laker questions if the season is will they bump Portland (and stiff arm Golden State) and ascend into the playoffs?

  1. THT making it happen. Professional sport has plot lines and one of those that always has a place in every season in every type of team sport is ‘will the kid stick?’ Well…this kid is gonna stick. THT has done about as much as possible with his opportunity to shine in the NBA preseason. On a team like the Lakers, burdened with expectation and with eyes on another banner, that’s no small thing. We don’t need to get into the stats, they’re solid across the board, but what I like best about his success is he isn’t forcing the action to get his buckets or make an impact. It’s all within the organic flow of our team which is not easy to do. He won’t be getting the minutes he gets now, that is one certainty, but if he can impact the game at a similar level he will be another 2nd round gem unearthed by the Laker scouting dept.
  2. Kyle Kuzma’s improved game. Kyle looks smooth. It’s a known fact that he generally plays better as a starter but that there is no clear path to a starter role on this team. He showed us that game again last night. Started in place of KCP and responded with one of his better games of the preseason. It’s a flummoxing situation for all involved because you want to see Kyle do well but he does struggle more when he comes off the bench. Maybe, and we say this every year since his rookie campaign, but maybe this will be the season where he really puts it together on both ends and can be another consistent scorer off the bench. His shot looks improved so maybe the short layoff will be better for him in general.
  3. Trezz’s energy. Gotta love it. I also love his midrange game, he’s got a nice 10-15 foot jumper he can splash. But his calling card is his energy which is infectious and helps give the bench an early identity to build around. Between Harrell, Kuzma and THT the Lakers have three really solid bench contributors to go along with Caruso and…maybe Quinn Cook right now as the lead players off the bench. The bench will be called upon, often, in the early part of the season as I expect Vogel to impose an unstated, non-rigorous minutes limit on AD and LBJ. There will be stretches where they both sit and it’ll be guys like Trezz and and Co. that need to come in and make instant impacts. He may be new, may not have won a ring but you can see how Montrezl is already making his presence felt on our bench squad.
  4. Only Laker we haven’t seen is Alfonzo McKinnie at this point. Every one else that was a camp invite has been cut, the 2 Way dudes have all gotten some burn…not Alfonzo. Can’t see anything on any injury reports or any news about him going through COVID protocols so not sure what the situation is there but I had hoped to see him get some run in. One more preseason game left so we shall see.
  5. Oh yeah, AD and LBJ had their preseason debuts. They looked great! neither played in the second half. While we still haven’t seen the entire team play in a preseason (KCP and Caruso out with hip issues, not major) the things that were hallmarks of the championship team remain early on in preseason: team play, solid defense and we have 2 of the best players on Earth at positions that really compliment one another well. So as we make our way to the final preseason affair on Friday the same things that were true and defined the team last season remain true today: we’re going as far as Davis and James take us.

One more of these to go, then the W’s and L’s start to matter. I expect we’ll see as close to the full roster play something akin to regular season rotations on Friday if everyone is healthy enough to go. Next Tuesday we kick it off snd get this party started, Can’t wait. Go Lakers.

5 Things: It Begins

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Aaaaaaaaand we’re back! The Lakers title defense kicked off its Foreward part of the season (aka as the NBA preseason this year) as Chapter 1 is yet to come. We didn’t see many of the players who were featured on the team when we won the NBA title a couple days ago or so. We did, however, see many (not all) of the new faces in what was an expectedly ragged affair. Style points weren’t many to come by and there won’t be any major rotation decisions made based off of what we saw. so the news that will likely make the most headlines is: The NBA is back!

  1. The Good. Talen Horton-Tucker looked pretty good, he made nice plays both for himself and others. He looked solid on D as evidenced by his three steals. He had really a nifty finish over Zu in the 3rd. Not the most efficient showing, he played a tough game, though. He consistently found a way to slow the game down which is a huge developmental step for any young player. Trezz played as advertised. the dude almost had a double-double by the half and brought regular season energy in a preseason game. I loved his steal and finish on Serge in the first half. There were some nice defensive close outs for a preseason game. Wes Mathews had a super-efficient game. Biggest good? No serious injuries after we saw Wes hit the deck with a slight ankle tweak and Caruso slip and get some treatment on his hip.
  2. The Bad. Schroder didn’t ‘wow’ and none of our ‘sure hope they improve as shooters!’ guys shot great. Fans of Kostas Antetokounmpo saw some nice flashes but will surely have wanted to see a little more, he did play well on defense. Kuzma had a mostly ‘Kyle…’ showing until the game was on the line when he found an open Quinn Cook for a three and canned a clutch triple of his own. You know, the regular preseason kind of thing.
  3. The Ugly. The turnovers, so very many turnovers. With so little time between October 11th and the season kicking off there isn’t the luxury of a lengthy ‘getting acquainted on the court’ phase of the season and it showed tonight. Also the overall shooting was terrible, especially from three point land. Personally not sweating the Bad or the Ugly, for many reasons. Mainly: it’s preseason.
  4. One odd thing: no rookies on the Lakers this year. There will be no hazing, no backpacks, everyone will carry their own luggage (or in the personal manner preferred) and the whole squad will have some amount of NBA service time logged, barring a trade.
  5. From paper to reality. Since we didn’t see 4/5ths of the Lakers starting line up tonight (I’m assuming Schroder starts) it’s fair to say we still ain’t seen nothing yet. We got a win, nobody got hurt and some of the guys we’re hoping develop into something useful did pretty well. We’ll see if Sunday sees more players of impact see the floor for some time together.

For more exciting NBA news and Los Angeles Lakers info, introspection and insight check out NBA Draft Junkies and Lakers Fast Break!

Who Are the Most Valuable Lakers? Ranking Every 2020-21 Laker Player!

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Nobody’s going to accuse Rob Pelinka of being too conservative, resting on his laurels, or standing pat when it came to deciding whom to bring back and whom to replace for the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.

While he brought back 9 players from last season’s championship team, Rob approached upgrading the Lakers’ roster as if the team had fallen short and not won the battle of the bubble and posted the franchise’s 17th NBA title. He dramatically upgraded the Lakers at point guard and center, added two big time scorers to boost the team’s offense when LeBron James rested, and rejuvenated the roster with young players who fit Anthony Davis’ timeline.

Pelinka traded 33-year old shooting guard Danny Green and his first round pick for 27-year old point guard Dennis Schroder to replace 34-year old Rajon Rondo and then signed 34-year old Wes Matthews to replace Green. Then he replaced the Lakers’ old school traditional center tandem of 32-year old JaVale McGee and 34-year old Dwight Howard with 35-year old stretch five center Marc Gasol and 26-year old 6MOY Montrezl Harrell.

The impact Schroder, Matthews, Gasol, and Harrell will have on the Lakers chances of repeating can’t be overstated. Pelinka was basically able to fill all of the Lakers’ roster needs waiting for Kawhi kept them from last offseason. The Lakers not only expanded their lead but did so by stealing a key player from their top two competitors. Losing Harrell was a major blow to the Clippers’ offense and losing Matthews will clearly hurt the Bucks’ defense.

The infusion of these four new players completely changed the hierarchy of the Lakers’ roster, likely including the team’s starting lineup and rotations. Head coach Frank Vogel will have a much deeper and more versatile roster. The five players highlighted in the first row of the photo at the top of this article should be the Lakers’ new starting lineup with the five players in the second row comprising an outstanding bench in an eleven-man rotation.

Here’s where I ranked every player on the Lakers’ 2020-21 roster:

  1. LeBron James. No debate needed. LeBron is simply still the best player on the planet and on the Lakers. Expect him to begin to conserve energy during the regular season and pick the time and spots to take charge.
  2. Anthony Davis. Second best player in the league and a possible MVP winner this season. Will continue to play the five to close games and should be a top candidate for DPOY. Will separate himself as a player.
  3. Marc Gasol. Will revolutionize the Lakers offense with his basketball intelligence, ability to space the floor, and elite passing ability. Will play more minutes and be the perfect defensive anchor next to Davis.
  4. Dennis Schroder. Will start at point guard and free LeBron James from having to always handle the ball. Will play big minutes with and without LeBron on the floor. Could be serious candidate for MIP award.
  5. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Will start at shooting guard and reward the Lakers for giving him the new 3-year contract. Will continue to be one of the team’s best 3-point shooters and consistent perimeter defenders.
  6. Montrezl Harrell. Will come off the bench and be candidate to repeat as 6MOY. Will play starter minutes often alongside Anthony Davis or Markieff Morris. Will be solid defensively and unstoppable offensively.
  7. Markieff Morris. The catalyst on offense and defense when Anthony Davis plays the five. Will be consistent part of the Lakers’ lineup to close games. Will get matchup minutes at the five alongside AD and Trezz.
  8. Wesley Matthews. New and improved version of Danny Green. Will see big minutes, especially against teams with bigger wing scorers like James Harden or Kawhi Leonard. One of the team’s best defenders.
  9. Alex Caruso. That Alex is now 9th on this list is a testament to how much deeper the Lakers are this season. His great defense will continue to earn him key minutes and opportunities to close games.
  10. Kyle Kuzma. This is a critical season for Kyle’s career as a Laker and he will need to shoot lights out to keep his place in the rotation. He will share time with Matthews guarding the Hardens and Leonards.
  11. Talen Horton-Tucker. If having a talented and versatile ten-man roster were not enough, the Lakers also have THT, whom the coaches say is going to be hard to keep out of the rotation. He’s our lottery pick.
  12. Alfonso McKinnie. A 6′ 7″ small forward with athleticism, McKinnie has potential as a wing defender but could also be a placeholder in case somebody like Trevor Ariza were to become available.
  13. Quinn Cook. Quinn’s contract is not guaranteed so he is a placeholder and ‘break glass in case of emergency’ player. Like Dudley, he’s beloved by teammates and a big part of the Lakers’ great chemistry and culture.
  14. Jared Dudley. The best 14th man in the league, Duds is great mentor and bench coach for the Lakers who can still shoot lights out and play smart defense in a pinch. Big part of team chemistry and culture.