Frank Vogel and the Lakers dodged a bullet against the Warriors and hopefully learned a key lesson when it comes to repeating as champions: Two’s company and three’s a crowd when it comes to Andre Drummond.
The Lakers’ best 5-man lineups offensively and defensively the past two years have always featured Anthony Davis at the five, LeBron James at the four, and three players capable of shooting the three and playing defense. The problem with playing a traditional low post center like Drummond alongside James and Davis is his presence in the paint creates crowds that make it easy for teams to prevent LeBron and AD from getting to the rim.
That’s what happened in the first half of the Play-In Game vs. the Warriors when Davis only played 4 minutes at center and the Warriors were able to sag off Drummond or Harrell to prevent the Lakers from attacking the rim. James, Davis, and Schroder as a result shot a combined 4 for 28 from the field as every shot at the rim was contested and 5 blocked and the Warriors forced the Lakers to shoot from outside and took a 13 point half time lead.
Contrast that with the second half when Davis played center for 18 of the 24 minutes and the Lakers, without a low post center clogging the paint, had wide open lanes to drive into the paint and attack the rim for buckets. Without Drummond or Harrell crowding the paint, James, Davis, and Schroder shot a combined 16 for 27 from the field and the Lakers rallied from down 13 to won the game with a 34-foot three from LeBron James.
Heading into their first round playoff series against the #2 seed Phoenix Suns, Frank Vogel needs to understand the Lakers cannot afford to lose first games by continuing to start traditional low post center Andre Drummond. The Lakers need to go all in and start Anthony Davis at the five or replace Andre Drummond with stretch five center Marc Gasol with the 3-point gravity to create space for James, Davis, and Schroder to attack the paint.
The Lakers face a tougher gauntlet to repeat as champions and need to understand that two’s company and three’s a crowd when it comes to Andre Drummond and commit to starting Anthony Davis or Marc Gasol at center.
Pressure’s on Frank Vogel to either start AD at the five for this series or at least start stretch five Marc Gasol rather than playing traditional low post centers Andre Drummond or Montrezl Harrell. Vogel almost cost the Lakers the play-in game against the Warriors by waiting until the middle of the third quarter to bench Drummond and move Davis to the five.
I’m not a fan of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson but agree with them 100% that the Lakers would not have won the play-in game had Frank Vogel not changed his strategy for the second half to bench Drummond and Harrell and play Davis at the five. Vogel can’t make that same mistake against the Suns.
Word from the Suns camp is they’re already looking to pack the paint against LeBron, AD, and Schroder and hunt pick-and-rolls with Drummond because of his inability to correctly rotate and be in the right position to protect the rim or contest jump shots. Time to end the Andre Drummond as the starter experiment and turn to the two lineups that have worked all season for the Lakers: AD or Marc Gasol at the five to spread defenses.
He’s not going to come off the bench in any game 1 in any series. Losses and the style in which they come will determine everything else.