Is there anybody out there who still believes the Los Angeles Lakers are going to repeat as NBA champions this season with Andre Drummond, Marc Gasol, or Montrezl Harrell starting and closing games at center?
The bad news is the grand plan to upgrade the center position so Anthony Davis could play his preferred power forward position full time has been a failure and should force the Lakers to rethink their playoff plans at center. The good news is the Lakers still have the best two-way center in the NBA in 28-year old 6′ 10,” 253 lb Anthony Davis who can dominate offensively and defensively in the paint, from midrange, or beyond the 3-point line.
It’s time for the Lakers to admit they need Anthony Davis to repeat his role from last year’s playoffs and devote half of his 36 minutes per game playing center rather than relying on Drummond, Gasol, and Harrell to play the five. The plan could have worked if the Lakers had traded for an elite center like Myles Turner, Chris Boucher, or Christian Wood last offseason but not with Rent-a-Centers like Andre Drummond, Marc Gasol, or Montrezl Harrell.
Sticking with the Drummond and Harrell center rotation in the playoffs would be a mistake. Both pack the paint and make it difficult for LeBron and AD to get to the rim. Both are subpar shot blockers and poor rim protectors. Frank Vogel needs to realize starting Andre Drummond vs. the Nugget’s Nikola Jokic in the first round or the Jazz’ Rudy Gobert in the second round of the playoffs would be playing right into the Denver’s and Utah’s hands.
Anthony Davis is the only center the Lakers have who can match up with Nikola Jokic and play Rudy Gobert off the court by pulling him out of the paint. The Lakers should start and finish playoff games with AD at center. The Lakers are better at both ends with Anthony Davis at the five as they proved in last year’s playoffs with their 5-out sets opening up the floor on offense and their trapping and rotating defense suffocating offenses.
Frank Vogel and the Lakers know the recipe for the Lakers winning in the playoffs is starting and closing with Anthony Davis at center. Like last year, the Lakers need to plan on AD playing at least half of his minutes at the five. Assuming he plays 36 minutes per game like last playoffs, Davis could play center 18 minutes per game or the first and last 4 to 5 minutes of each half, leaving the remaining 30 minutes to be split between the other centers.
Starting and closing games with a ‘small ball’ lineup of Davis, Morris, James, Caldwell-Pope, and Schroder allows the Lakers to create space by spreading the floor on offense and trap, switch and rotate on defense like last year. One of the problems with the 3-headed center the Lakers used this season to limit Davis from having to play big minutes at the five is he’s only played 7 minutes per game at center, which could hurt us in the playoffs.
While it’s easy to understand why the Lakers would like to minimize AD’s minutes at the five, Vogel also needs to realize that Drummond, Gasol, and Harrell are not going to be favorable match ups in the playoffs this year. Davis had no problem playing half his minutes at center last playoffs. He should be well rested and ready to do the same in this year. It would be a huge mistake for the Lakers to try to rely on anybody but Davis at center.
Heading into the playoffs, the Lakers need to start and close halves and games with their best center. If AD plays 18 of his 36 minutes per game at center, there would still be 30 minutes for Drummond, Gasol, and Harrell. The Lakers should spend valuable minutes these last 11 games playing small ball lineups with Davis at the five and Morris or even James at the four to get ready for the playoffs rather than devoting that time to the Rent-a-Centers.
While I expect Vogel to continue to try and start games with Drummond and to play all three centers in the playoffs, I expect to see a repeat of last year’s playoffs when McGee and Harrell became unplayable and were benched. Hopefully, Frank will be as decisive and proactive as he was in last year’s playoffs and he’ll make similar moves for Anthony Davis to take over the center position both as the starter and closer once we’re in the playoffs.
The path to this year’s NBA championship is going to be one of the toughest in years and the Lakers will need to be better than last year to repeat. The only way they can do that is to prioritize Anthony Davis at the five.
I’m seriously worried the Lakers are going to try to rely on Andre Drummond and Montrezl Harrell to play big minutes at center so Anthony Davis can play his preferred power forward position.
I believe that could be the kind of overthinking that could cost the Lakers a chance to repeat as champions. We play our best defense when we go small with AD at the five and four players who can trap, switch, and rotate rapidly to suffocate offenses. That is something have not shown we can do with Drummond, Gasol, or Harrell in the lineup. That’s why I believe we have to follow the blueprint we did last year with AD playing half his 36 minutes per game at the five.
If you think Andre, Marc, or Trezz can be part of a lockdown championship defense, please post some clips showing that because I cannot remember a single instance when they were able to play the kind of smothering defense the Lakers ‘small ball’ lineup did last year to win the championship. Drummond and Harrell are never in the right position defensively, don’t have the timing and anticipation to block many shots, and clog up the paint on offense to make it hard for LeBron, AD, Dennis, or THT to have space to get to the rim. Gasol is still the best option because he at least can pass and shoot the 3 on offense. Just too old, slow, and flat footed on D.
If AD plays 50% of his minutes at the five, we win championship. If he doesn’t, we’re lose. It really is that simple. I don’t care what Frank does with centers during the regular season but he better not screw with the winning formula we had last year and try to win with Drummond, Gasol, and Harrell because that’s not going to fly. Bench the Rent-a-Centers and start and close with AD.
I don’t disagree that AD is a ‘great’ player but at 28 you cannot claim he is in the class of Kareem, Wilt, or Shaq as a legendary center and a big part of the reason why is he rarely plays the center position. But as usual, you miss the point of the article, which is can AD be considered a ‘great’ center when he rarely plays it? You can spin the question any way you want but you have to play center to be considered a great center.
I also love how all of the naysayers ignore the reality that AD has played center only 7% of the time by intent of Frank Vogel, Rob Pelinka, and the Lakers. Give me all your trust in Rob and trust in Frank bullshit but it won’t change the reality that we now have three centers who averaged almost 70 minutes at the five this season. I sure hope Frank ends up playing AD 40 to 50% of the time in the playoffs like last year but anybody who thinks that’s a sure thing is naïve and ignoring all the signs that say AD may only play minimal minutes at the five. I mean it’s not like Rob and Frank have always been right and not playing AD more at center could be a fatal mistake in these playoffs.
He doesn’t see himself as a center. That’s why the debate pretty much ends there. Like many 4’s in the NBA he is willing, when called upon, to chip in at the 5. We had no player like Trezz last season, someone who could impact the game more offensively than defensively. He’s also able to defend small ball-style centers himself without playing the small ball game on offense.
Frame this point as “Will Anthony Davis play too much center to take him off the list of the All Time great power forwards” and you’re looking at this through the correct lens.
The playoffs will be different than the regular season. These games are practice sessions that count in the standings. They have been that all season, just because we’re floundering in the standings without the engine that drives our car doesn’t mean the team isn’t still figuring out all the new guys. Even from last offseason (can’t say summer, lol).
I look at the center situation a lot differently than last season. Last season we brought in the ultimate role-center in McGee (happy to play his 15 minutes, at least publicly and supportive of the team) and Dwight “nobody wants me…wow” Howard. They brought very similar skill sets and athletic talent.
This season we have three very different players that do very different things. Plus Davis. So in many ways I think we’re stronger at center than we were last year. Gasol can play in a five-out line up on offense and hold his own on D. Drummond is as traditional of an NBA center as they come with all its pros and cons. Trezz is a 4/5 combo player who could actually play alongside any of the three players listed as centers or as a center himself. There are more options this season than in last.
In terms of why worry about the banging, look no further than the two plus months Davis just missed for the beating his body has taken as a pro hoops player for the last year and a half. I think Frank is right: we will need all three to attain our goals. I do not think he means all three playing a lot of minutes in every series or game. I think he is indicating that what he did last year, which was based on matchups, will be done again this season.
So, in short, I guess this response is really just along-winded “I trust Rob and Frank” BS post, lol.
The only issue is how many losses will it take before Frank makes the necessary moves? Hopefully, it will be a series of close games that we pulled off at the end that showed AD needs to play the five.
With the one exception should the Lakers end up facing Joel