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**LA LAKERS THREAD** Sitting on 17! 2023-2024 offseason begins
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by licensed to ball,
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Playing LeBron James at center has helped the Los Angeles Lakers stay afloat, while lifting up their offense in the absence of injured co-star Anthony Davis. What lessons can the Lakers take from that when Davis returns to the lineup?
When Davis went down with a knee sprain on Dec. 17, the Lakers ranked 24th in the NBA in offensive rating, according to NBA Advanced Stats. Since then, they've improved to 11th without one of their stars, and lineups with James at center have undoubtedly been key.
With James on the court, the Lakers' 118 offensive rating in that span ranks in the 87th percentile leaguewide (among players with at least 100 minutes since Dec. 1
based on analysis of data from NBA Advanced Stats, and nearly all of those minutes have come with James at "center." (He's played just 12% of his minutes since then with either Dwight Howard or DeAndre Jordan.)
I don't think calling James the center is key to those lineups. Carmelo Anthony is as likely to guard and be guarded by the opposing center, after all, though James is clearly the best rim protector on the court. Instead, it's more about Howard and Jordan not being on the court, putting more shooting on it and opening things up for the Lakers' offense and particularly Russell Westbrook.
Similar to what happened during his lone season with the Rockets, Westbrook has been more effective the smaller (and better shooting) the lineups around him get. In 249 minutes with James at center, Westbrook has boosted his true shooting percentage from .519 overall to a hyper-efficient .624.
Given the way he has shot this season (just 18% on 3-point attempts, worst among players with at least 50, and a middling 39% on 2-point attempts outside the paint), Davis might not stretch the court as much as Melo and the other Lakers frontcourt options he'll be replacing when he returns (Trevor Ariza and Stanley Johnson). Still, Davis has to be accounted for on the perimeter in a way that Howard and Jordan never will.
Additionally, Davis gives the Lakers' center-less lineups a greater chance of competing defensively. As well as the Lakers have scored with James in the middle, they've been predictably porous on defense, ranking in the 20th percentile in defensive rating with James on the court since AD went down. As a result, lineups with Davis at center and James on the court have about as good a net rating (plus-4.1 per 100 possessions) as those with James in the middle (plus-4.4).
Add it up, and the logical conclusion seems to be the Lakers should continue phasing out their centers entirely in favor of small ball, particularly now that Ariza is back and they've added Johnson to give them more options to fill out such lineups.
That seems to be the direction the Lakers' front office is headed. ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported earlier this week on NBA Today that the team is looking to move Jordan to clear a roster spot while reducing their luxury tax bill. Retaining Howard for potential playoff matchups against dominant centers would be reasonable, but otherwise, the Lakers should be leaning on AD and LeBron at center.
When Davis went down with a knee sprain on Dec. 17, the Lakers ranked 24th in the NBA in offensive rating, according to NBA Advanced Stats. Since then, they've improved to 11th without one of their stars, and lineups with James at center have undoubtedly been key.
With James on the court, the Lakers' 118 offensive rating in that span ranks in the 87th percentile leaguewide (among players with at least 100 minutes since Dec. 1
based on analysis of data from NBA Advanced Stats, and nearly all of those minutes have come with James at "center." (He's played just 12% of his minutes since then with either Dwight Howard or DeAndre Jordan.)I don't think calling James the center is key to those lineups. Carmelo Anthony is as likely to guard and be guarded by the opposing center, after all, though James is clearly the best rim protector on the court. Instead, it's more about Howard and Jordan not being on the court, putting more shooting on it and opening things up for the Lakers' offense and particularly Russell Westbrook.
Similar to what happened during his lone season with the Rockets, Westbrook has been more effective the smaller (and better shooting) the lineups around him get. In 249 minutes with James at center, Westbrook has boosted his true shooting percentage from .519 overall to a hyper-efficient .624.
Given the way he has shot this season (just 18% on 3-point attempts, worst among players with at least 50, and a middling 39% on 2-point attempts outside the paint), Davis might not stretch the court as much as Melo and the other Lakers frontcourt options he'll be replacing when he returns (Trevor Ariza and Stanley Johnson). Still, Davis has to be accounted for on the perimeter in a way that Howard and Jordan never will.
Additionally, Davis gives the Lakers' center-less lineups a greater chance of competing defensively. As well as the Lakers have scored with James in the middle, they've been predictably porous on defense, ranking in the 20th percentile in defensive rating with James on the court since AD went down. As a result, lineups with Davis at center and James on the court have about as good a net rating (plus-4.1 per 100 possessions) as those with James in the middle (plus-4.4).
Add it up, and the logical conclusion seems to be the Lakers should continue phasing out their centers entirely in favor of small ball, particularly now that Ariza is back and they've added Johnson to give them more options to fill out such lineups.
That seems to be the direction the Lakers' front office is headed. ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported earlier this week on NBA Today that the team is looking to move Jordan to clear a roster spot while reducing their luxury tax bill. Retaining Howard for potential playoff matchups against dominant centers would be reasonable, but otherwise, the Lakers should be leaning on AD and LeBron at center.
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Malik needs to clean up on jumping on pump fakes.
But besides that he has been a steal
But besides that he has been a steal
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who the leaders in minus?
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would guess dj and tht
bazemore too
bazemore too
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was bored and had nothing to do so i checked. sad to see ad down there. on another note the mighty jerami grant yall love is in the bottom 20 league wide in plus minus.
bottom 10 lakers
bottom 10 lakers
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for reference
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Damn Russell higher than I thought
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But they play for bad teams. So they will always be “negative”was bored and had nothing to do so i checked. sad to see ad down there. on another note the mighty jerami grant yall love is in the bottom 20 league wide in plus minus.
bottom 10 lakers
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Everyone knows a championship team is usually led by a star player you can best describe as “you know, he’s not that bad”
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You know that feeling when a chick is on your jock, but you ain’t really giving her the time of day, you might mess with her a bit on the low but never actually acknowledge her existence with the homies, then one day you find out she’s messing with the dweeb you ain’t really like and you feel a bit betrayed.
That’s how I felt when I saw Cacok on the Spurs just now
That’s how I felt when I saw Cacok on the Spurs just now
dontsteponmyshoes
Supporter
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Bol BOL to the pistons, Grant getting traded next 
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akajae
formerly akajaedeuce
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Morant is playing.
He likes to show out against the Lakers lol
He likes to show out against the Lakers lol
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Auditioning
Eye see it
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Laker win and Dallas loss puts us in 5th place I believe. Dallas is playing Chicago with Porzingiz out and Luka with an ankle injury . 1-3 position is locked in imo but we can get the 4th seed.
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Should be an easy dub with Adams out
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Damn it....
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lol
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why morant gotta be like that?
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dontsteponmyshoes
Supporter
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