Could the solution to the fit and spacing problems the Lakers are having with lineups with their superstar big three be as simple as breaking them up and playing them in pairs to have two superstars on the court at all times?
There’s no question Frank Vogel faces serious challenges trying to find two complementary starters who can defend at a high level, shoot and make the three, and fit with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook. That’s not an easy challenge with a healthy roster and the Lakers’ injuries only make it more daunting. At the heart of the problem is the enigmatic Russell Westbrook and the perpetual quest to figure out with whom he fits.
Here’s the gist of where I’m going. Basketball in essence is a two-man game. That applies to both role players and superstars. Creating chemistry and building a winning roster around two superstars is easier than with three. The Lakers should optimize Russ by pairing him alone with James or Davis rather than with both of them. That would simplify building winning lineups and enable the Lakers to have two superstars on the court all the time.
So let’s take a look at whether it makes sense for the Lakers to prioritize two superstars on the court for the entire game versus trying to make clumsy overcrowded three-superstar starting and closing lineups work.
1. The Two Superstars On the Court All of the Time Full Option
This is the option that makes the most sense for the Lakers as it still has all three superstars starting and closing games while also having at least two superstars on the court all of the time between the game start and close.
We’ve seen how Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis can play winning basketball without LeBron James the last two games. If Vogel started AD at the five, the Lakers might have won both games easily versus in overtime. With LeBron injured, Vogel simply has more options and can more easily put together winning five-man lineups around two rather than three superstars. Suddenly, there’s opportunities for Monk and Ellington to earn minutes.
The Lakers would still start and close games with all three superstars but would only play two superstars to end first half or start second half and use those minutes to have two superstars on the court for the rest of the game. Having two superstars on the court for the rest of the game is a better use of Russell Westbrook than giving him more minutes with LeBron James and Anthony Davis in cramped lineups with questionable defense or spacing.
The Lakers would be a better balanced team with Russ playing 12 minutes more per game with LeBron and AD against the other team’s reserves than struggling to fit with James and Davis in a superstar big three lineup.
2. The Two Superstars On the Court All of the Time Lite Option
Of course, there is another option should the Lakers want to avoid the difficulty of building lineups around three superstars entirely, which is to cut Westbrook’s minutes and pull him from the starting and closing lineups.
That’s not something I expect the Lakers to do but could be an option if Russ continues to struggle playing alongside LeBron and AD. It at least gives the Lakers a optional off-ramp short of trading Russ if he continues to struggle. In other words, instead of the Lakers playing all three superstars together to start and end each half, why not think out-of-the-box and instead prioritize always having two superstars on the court for all 48 minutes of the game?
Basketball by its nature is a two-man game and building a rotation featuring lineups headed by LeBron and AD, LeBron and Russ, and Russ and AD could be smarter than trying to force a LeBron, AD, and Russ lineup to work. In the last two wins, we’ve seen it’s easier to build balanced five-man lineups with two rather than three superstars. The Lakers might be a better team by focusing on two instead of three superstars and limiting Russ’ minutes.
Two superstars on court the entire game could be a smarter way to take advantage of having a superstar big three than trying to build winning lineups surrounding three superstars with elite defense and shooting.
Watching the Lakers with just two superstars has been intriguing, mainly because it’s so much easier to build effective balanced lineups when you have three spots open than just two sports.
That raised the question of could the Laker prioritize playing with two superstars all of the time versus maximizing the minute all three superstars played together.
While it seems obvious that a team tries to play all three together as much as possible, the result is that there are times when there are only enough minutes left for just one superstar during the middle of the game.
On the other hand, focusing on always having at least two superstars on the court at all times could act7ually make the Lakers a better and more dangerous team.
The truth may be that the Lakers’ lineups with two superstars and three defenders and shooters could be better lineups than shoehorning three superstars into a lineup that doesn’t have enough shooting or defense.
Going to be a really positive “which superstar sits in crunch time?” convo for Frank. We’re moving quickly through the “this team is a potential juggernaut” theories into the more realistic “the Lakers have a lot of work in front of them to make this functionable” points of debate and desperately want to avoid at any cost “this really doesn’t work very well” territory” line of reasoning.
The problem has been that hasn’t worked very well even with 2 superstars and no LeBron. The main issue being that we are old and these guys were never brought here to play major roles. THT returning may help that, we’ll see. Based on the amount of questions we all had about his improvement over the summer it stands to reason he has a lot to potentially prove. If he can become any kind of positive catalyst it’ll help everything work better.
The real issue I see looming over the next month or so as we wind the calendar year down and deals are guaranteed is we are almost through the home-heavy, underwhelming opponent portion of the schedule. We’re going to have to forge an identity on the road where Carmelo has been shooting miserably. He’s really been the best release valve thus far for our offensive struggles and if he’s not hitting we don’t usually win.
How we come through December is basically going to define the challenges this team will face: can we stabilize the ship and not play down to inferior teams, compete hard every night-every quarter-in every game, or are we going to linger near the bottom of the seeding bracket and maybe have to go through a play-in game? Pretty sure we’d all like to avoid those kind of scenarios.
Need to get healthy and need to get the main pieces playing together which really has yet to happen. So far we’re Brooklyn 2.0 with main pieces sitting and some of the better role guys not being available for whatever reason. Talent only gets you so far, chemistry and defense need to be a lot more present on this team and I just haven’t seen that consistently. Not yet, anyhow.
No team is gonna take Westy. Impressed with THT and ain’t letting him go. Monk, Ellington and Baze 2-17 from 3. WE LOSE!