Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2022 9:04 am Post subject: START WENYEN GABRIEL AT CENTER
Preseason
Game 1 Highlights
I read the comment by PICKnPOP and it just made sense. I'd be interested in reading the demerits.
Thomas Bryant is more fundamentally sound, sets screens and boxes out.
Damian Jones is bigger.
Lebron James is more of a center at this point in his career.
I was in the Thomas Bryant camp, but I've changed t-shirts. I'm in the Wenyen Gabriel camp.
Wenyen would quickly get 2 fouls in the first minute against centers like Embiid, Jokic, etc. Then we'd have to bring on Jones/Bryant anyways. He's too small to play full time center. PF is just about right for him as he's too slow laterally to play SF. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
It will depend on who we are playing against. However, with just about all our best role players being guards or small forwards our rotations only make sense with AD at center and LeBron at PF.
We have two centers to evaluate over time (aside from AD), and Gabriel is not one of them because he's shorter and is a forward.
I mean, we literally have NO ONE ELSE of size to be a backup PF, and you want to move him to a position already covered? _________________ "LeBron for three!" is BY FAR the worst sentence in the English language.
LG is funny. Not long ago there was a discussion about having to cut
Gabriel. Now there’s a thread for him to start, gotta love it. _________________ Lakers need to build a freaking team !
When the playoffs come Jones and Bryant will likely be unplayable in most series. Might as well give Gabriel as much run as possible during the regular season so he’s ready. I think today the coaching staff wanted to see how he would hold up against a legit big-man and I think he did fine.
He didn’t have as great of a game today but I think he will look great with AD in there. I really don’t like the idea of drop coverage too much especially in the playoffs with people like steph, dame, KL, Murray all in the west. I’d be more comfortable with a front court of AD and Gabriel for more switchability. I’d like to see him with.
Russ
Reaves
Bron
AD
Gabriel
I like nunn scoring but I think a bench of shroder/nunn gives us scoring off the bench that we will need when we start staggering our stars. Then again staggering nunn and shroder might be a good idea too. Nunn gives spacing to the first unit and reaves gives the second unit a playmaker to keep the ball moving. _________________ “like I never left”
It would be the same mimic, Drummond/AD. There needs to be a recognition real soon that Lebron is best at the 4, and that Lebron is often at his best without even a Center like AD in the middle. The smaller you play around Lebron, the more spacing you have. The Warriors oftem use a guy like Dray at the 5. Lebron can be that guy for us.
While I like Gabriel, I think his lack of outside shooting and defensive perimeter game will limit his impact. What we need is to make some moves for more perimeter shooting and size, so that when we play smaller with AD at the 5, Lebron at the 4, or with Lebron at the 5, that we have the size at the 3/2/1.
Right now we don't have the right size at the 3/2 or defense to get away with playing small. Although we've improved the defense talent from last year, the lack of size we have at the 3/2 is significant.
It would be the same mimic, Drummond/AD. There needs to be a recognition real soon that Lebron is best at the 4, and that Lebron is often at his best without even a Center like AD in the middle. The smaller you play around Lebron, the more spacing you have. The Warriors oftem use a guy like Dray at the 5. Lebron can be that guy for us.
While I like Gabriel, I think his lack of outside shooting and defensive perimeter game will limit his impact. What we need is to make some moves for more perimeter shooting and size, so that when we play smaller with AD at the 5, Lebron at the 4, or with Lebron at the 5, that we have the size at the 3/2/1.
Right now we don't have the right size at the 3/2 or defense to get away with playing small. Although we've improved the defense talent from last year, the lack of size we have at the 3/2 is significant.
James at closer 5 is something we should have tried seasons ago, but it should be with bigger 3D players around him which we dint have now. You can make it work with AD too, on offense they have synergy and are a great fit, on defense they both can switch everything and defend the interior. I just wish we had great 3D players around them to close out games _________________ 48 49 50 52 53 54 72 80 82
85 87 88 00 01 02 09 10 20
We have two centers to evaluate over time (aside from AD), and Gabriel is not one of them because he's shorter and is a forward.
I mean, we literally have NO ONE ELSE of size to be a backup PF, and you want to move him to a position already covered?
Well he did start in place of A.D. as small ball center today. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
...and the opposing team had 16 points halfway through the first quarter. Lol, to put that game in perspective, 6'6" Anderson was used as a backup center that night.
As a rim protection helper (i.e., as a PF), I'm all in on seeing what Gabriel can do defensively. As a primary rim protector (i.e., center), we are asking for trouble if that's a plan for the regular season and beyond.
I again will point out that the Lakers won the 2020 championship in part because we played BIG against our opponents, not small. _________________ "LeBron for three!" is BY FAR the worst sentence in the English language.
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