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hype
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Location: Lake Nacimiento
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 Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2025 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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| mad55557777 wrote: | | wolfpaclaker wrote: | | drae wrote: | | wolfpaclaker wrote: | | This small ball D works when your opponents canât shoot or have no PG (flawed rosters). |
The Lakers small ball lineup works because AR is 6'5, Luka is 6'6, Lebron is 6'9, DFS is 6'8 etc etc. So not only is the Lakers small ball lineup actually really quite big, it's extremely switchable. There are flaws to it but being able to switch 1-5 is a luxury.
We need an actual POA defender though and a center. We are large except at the 5 and we still have a lack of depth at the 4 |
Yes I agree the fact they can switch makes it a strength but lets go back all the way to the Bulls even, they used to have defensive versatility with Pip/Jordan/Rodman/Harper. Switching by going smaller isn't anything new, and it can work if your guards and wings have size. I agree. The thing is Rui/LBJ will need to get into Rodman/Lamar Odom/Dray Green mode.
Also, what I'm saying is that when you double opposing bigs, when you press the opposing big with help, it's based on your opponents not making plays from outside and the big not reading and reacting to the situation. We don't wanna play this tactic against Jokic IMO. Or a team that has even Zubac (assuming we give Zu that kind of respect). Because those teams will make you pay from outside with their guards/perimeter players. I'd rather have them beat us with their bigs 1 on 1. I think those level of teams would figure out the openings and where the help is coming from over a best of 7.
I'll be interested to see the playoffs with regards to this. We may have cracked the championship level code. On offense, while I'm not a big fan of all the 1 on 1 guard doing it all stuff, the fact is the huge advantage we have on the perimeter is so obvious, that so long as 2/3 of AR/LBJ/Luka go off, we'll be fine. The small ball stuff helps our offense in that sense as spacing is better for AR/Luka/LBJ to go off. So will all come back to those small ball tactics, IMO. If we manage those well, might have cracked the code to win it all. |
Whatever zubac or any other center can score against the lakers, he will give up more on the other end. Jokic is the exception because lakers simply denying him the ball.
Our small ball works because:
1. It is not small, 6â5-6â9 guys
2. Multiple good rebounders
3. All can shoot
4 3 elite playmakers |
Yup, we have teams trying to match up to US now. They had Zu on skates anytime they wanted in the last game which always created a high percentage shot & they're going to abuse that even more than they did in the regular Season if we meet up again. Let Zu get 20-30 while the rest of the team on the floor is taken out of the game for stretches while we blow the game open offensively. Rui is a massively underrated part of this though so as long as he remains healthy I have zero concerns that we will at the very minimum give any team in the NBA an extremely tough series. |
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LakerLanny
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Joined: 24 Oct 2001
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2025 5:30 pm Post subject: |
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| TooMuchMajicBuss wrote: | JJ Reddick, no experience. So what does he do?
JJ held this team together through a lot of roster changes, he won the players' trust, he held each of their feet to the fire to play solid defense, pay attention to details, and to play on the same page on both ends of the court.
Not bad for a rookie coach. Exceeded expectations. |
When was the last time the Lakers won the division?
Redick has been fantastic, he cares a lot and prepares well. Also, as a former player he is smart about not overdoing the yelling and screaming as Mike Malone found out wears thin eventually.
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Runway8
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Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Posts: 24687
Location: La Jolla, San Diego
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2025 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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| LakerLanny wrote: | | TooMuchMajicBuss wrote: | JJ Reddick, no experience. So what does he do?
JJ held this team together through a lot of roster changes, he won the players' trust, he held each of their feet to the fire to play solid defense, pay attention to details, and to play on the same page on both ends of the court.
Not bad for a rookie coach. Exceeded expectations. |
When was the last time the Lakers won the division?
Redick has been fantastic, he cares a lot and prepares well. Also, as a former player he is smart about not overdoing the yelling and screaming as Mike Malone found out wears thin eventually. |
Mike Malone is a ridiculous man. He really thought he was invincible. His childish antics within the organization was an eye opener. His pettiness at the parade now makes all the sense in the world. He can go put unemployment in his pipe and smoke it.
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Annihilator
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Joined: 02 Jul 2001
Posts: 4042
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2025 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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| LakerLanny wrote: | | TooMuchMajicBuss wrote: | JJ Reddick, no experience. So what does he do?
JJ held this team together through a lot of roster changes, he won the players' trust, he held each of their feet to the fire to play solid defense, pay attention to details, and to play on the same page on both ends of the court.
Not bad for a rookie coach. Exceeded expectations. |
When was the last time the Lakers won the division?
Redick has been fantastic, he cares a lot and prepares well. Also, as a former player he is smart about not overdoing the yelling and screaming as Mike Malone found out wears thin eventually. |
Absolutely correct. The coaching staff that JJ put together (Nate McMillan, Scott Brooks, Bob Beyer, Greg St. Jean, Lindsey Harding and Beau Levesque) also must have been marvelous.
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ThePageDude
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2025 4:48 am Post subject: |
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| Annihilator wrote: |
<snip>
Absolutely correct. The coaching staff that JJ put together (Nate McMillan, Scott Brooks, Bob Beyer, Greg St. Jean, Lindsey Harding and Beau Levesque) also must have been marvelous. |
Yes, he chose seasoned coaches with loads of experience that have seen countless situations and worked with numerous coaching styles. He combined his out-of-the-box thinking with a wealth of experience resulting in a diverse and balanced coaching team. Well done. |
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Annihilator
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2025 4:01 pm Post subject: |
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| ThePageDude wrote: | | Annihilator wrote: |
<snip>
Absolutely correct. The coaching staff that JJ put together (Nate McMillan, Scott Brooks, Bob Beyer, Greg St. Jean, Lindsey Harding and Beau Levesque) also must have been marvelous. |
Yes, he chose seasoned coaches with loads of experience that have seen countless situations and worked with numerous coaching styles. He combined his out-of-the-box thinking with a wealth of experience resulting in a diverse and balanced coaching team. Well done. |
Nate McMillan has 19 years of head coaching experience. Scott Brooks has 12 years of head coaching experience and was the 2009-2010 NBA Coach of the Year. Lyndsey Harding was the 2023-24 NBA G League Coach of the Year. JJ has enough confidence that he can surround himself with extraordinarily talented individuals.
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gng930
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| Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2025 5:51 am Post subject: |
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Let's all also remember he did this during a season in which he lost his home to a fire.
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lakersfever714
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| Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2025 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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Smart guys know who to hire good coaches so credit JJ for being able to see good and fitting coaches just like how he's able to see the game of basketball like no others.
It all comes with the territory of being smart. Man, if he's able to do this in his rookie year while still learning, imagine what he could do after about 5 years under his belt. 
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Dr. Laker
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Joined: 12 Apr 2002
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| Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2025 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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| lakersfever714 wrote: | Smart guys know who to hire good coaches so credit JJ for being able to see good and fitting coaches just like how he's able to see the game of basketball like no others.
It all comes with the territory of being smart. Man, if he's able to do this in his rookie year while still learning, imagine what he could do after about 5 years under his belt. |
Was JJ allowed to hire his own staff? I figured that Brooks & McMillan were "strongly suggested" by the FO, if not outright forced on him (like Jason Kidd was forced on Vogel). For a rookie coach, they generally need a veteran staff to track timeouts, fouls and help with end game strategy.
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drae
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| Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2025 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Always a fan of finding young talented coaches in. He's only 40, he could be our coach for the next 15-20 years. Give him a long term contract and let him grow |
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manlisten
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Joined: 09 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2025 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Dr. Laker wrote: | | lakersfever714 wrote: | Smart guys know who to hire good coaches so credit JJ for being able to see good and fitting coaches just like how he's able to see the game of basketball like no others.
It all comes with the territory of being smart. Man, if he's able to do this in his rookie year while still learning, imagine what he could do after about 5 years under his belt. |
Was JJ allowed to hire his own staff? I figured that Brooks & McMillan were "strongly suggested" by the FO, if not outright forced on him (like Jason Kidd was forced on Vogel). For a rookie coach, they generally need a veteran staff to track timeouts, fouls and help with end game strategy. |
I know he had prior relationships with Beyer, St. Jean and Harding.
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wolfpaclaker
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 1:06 am Post subject: |
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| drae wrote: | | Always a fan of finding young talented coaches in. He's only 40, he could be our coach for the next 15-20 years. Give him a long term contract and let him grow |
The lifespan of a NBA coach these days is 3-5 years. Very rare cases coaches last as long as 10 years anymore.
All you need in the NBA to lose your job these days is 1 or 2 seasons where you didn't win a title and the FO had set title expectations. That's how fast it is, unfortunately for coaches.
With Lebron/Luka/Reaves. If they don't win a title this year or next, fair or not, people will be calling for JJ's head. I agree with you though, we should mold a coach for the longterm. It's just not the trend anymore though. NBA has become just like the NHL now with regards to coaching.
Kerr lasted but he also won 4 rings in a very short time. 3 in his first 4 years. Spo the same, he won 2 in his first 3. Riles is old school anyway. Outside of those 2 who won so much right away, very rare. So yeah, if JJ wins 2/2 or 2 out of his first 3 seasons, maybe. Otherwise, I think the odds are he's around for 3-5 years at most. Just the way the NBA is, just the way the GMs position themselves with owners to protect their jobs. |
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wolfpaclaker
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 1:38 am Post subject: |
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Biggest changes I saw this year vs last year.
Upgrades:
Unlike Ham, JJ gave his players confidence and consistency. Consistent minutes/roles for players like Rui, Reaves, Max (pre-trade was starting). This helps a lot. You see how Reaves and Rui are playing this year vs last. Pre-Luka trade even, all 3 were starting and playing better. That was the primary reason we dumped Ham, players revolted against him last season. This ALONE is a reason why JJ >>>>> Ham. Big win for us.
Better halfcourt sets on offense when the game slows down.
Less pace/pushing the ball/early offense . Ham was obsessed with 3 guard lineups and pushing pace. Seems we're more organized in the halfcourt now and run better set plays around Lebron or now Luka. We still run 3 guard lineups, but our 3 guards have size and not smalls. We don't push without intentions. More organised.
Areas of concern:
On defense. Didn't really develop a strong defensive identity on a consistent basis. Rely heavily on small ball and switching, which in the playoffs, IMO, can get you into trouble with teams hunting the mismatch/switch. Our tactics are heavily relying on teams missing their open 3s and not milking a mismatch. So our defensive FG% around the rim and less than 6 feet may be an area of concern.
On offense. Seems we start to fall in love with the 3 ball and need it to get going. Without the 3 ball and guards going off 1 on 1, we don't seem to establish much of a post game with Lebron/Rui. I would think with having players that are so good from the mid-post like Bron and Rui (really good midrange scorer) you'd run some action there on a consistent basis. JJ doesn't seem to value this part of the offense, much. Our "paint touches" and "post ups" are mediocre/lower end. Meaning to win a title we need to get really hot from outside. |
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MJST
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 4:17 am Post subject: |
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Mike Malone is yet another example of a Coach that beat the Lakers and won one Championship and has his entire career and reputation after to thank for it.
Doc Rivers has an entire career because he beat the Lakers in the Finals once and never won anotther one after. Neither will Mike Malone.
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Last edited by MJST on Fri Apr 18, 2025 4:23 am; edited 1 time in total |
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lakersfan8
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Joined: 27 May 2014
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 4:18 am Post subject: |
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| drae wrote: | | Always a fan of finding young talented coaches in. He's only 40, he could be our coach for the next 15-20 years. Give him a long term contract and let him grow |
We won the championship with Vogel and look what happened to him?
The owner always has unrealistic high expectation but no team can be a contender every year. When the goal is not reached, they will look for a scapegoat. They donât want to blame the players. The GM is not going to fire himself. Jeanie probably doesnât know enough basketball to understand whoâs the biggest problem so it will always be the coach. Unless something happens to break the chain, this cycle will just repeat itself |
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wolfpaclaker
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 4:35 am Post subject: |
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| MJST wrote: | Mike Malone is yet another example of a Coach that beat the Lakers and won one Championship and has his entire career and reputation after to thank for it.
Doc Rivers has an entire career because he beat the Lakers in the Finals once and never won anotther one after. Neither will Mike Malone. |
Rick Carlisle beat the Lakers too on the way to 1 title career. He has brought 3 different teams to the playoffs (Dallas, Indy, Detroit).
I believe Malone has a solid level. He brings some valuable things to a team. He improved Sacto when he was there and had Cousins playing good ball. However he seems to butt heads with his FO. Both destinations.
Carlisle. Malone. Vogel. All coaches who have solid careers and won a ring, even did well more than 1 team/situation. Championship level coaches if given talent.
Really 90 percent is the talent. That 10 percent is the coach. Even then,in the present day NBA after a bit the front office or the players seem to tune out the coach. Max I give a coach these days is 5 years. Even thatâs a stretch. Itâs real fast things can change for them the faith the players or FO has for them.
Ty Lue is seen as an elite coach, I feel thatâs maybe a comparable situation to JJ. Lue was also hand picked by Bron, from what I recall. Udoka another coach who seems to do really well, former player turned coach. These are the more successful player tuned into coaches, but Lue/Udoka were assistants for a long time.
JJ does seem he has what it takes to get to the level where he can be part of a title winning team. You just never felt that with Walton or Ham, even when they had elite talent. Heâs already way better than both Luke and Ham, IMO. |
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danzag
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 5:18 am Post subject: |
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| The lifespan of a NBA coach is really short nowadays, but JJ's situation really seems different. I think he'll be here for a long time. |
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Dr. Laker
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Joined: 12 Apr 2002
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 6:14 am Post subject: |
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| wolfpaclaker wrote: | | MJST wrote: | Mike Malone is yet another example of a Coach that beat the Lakers and won one Championship and has his entire career and reputation after to thank for it.
Doc Rivers has an entire career because he beat the Lakers in the Finals once and never won anotther one after. Neither will Mike Malone. |
Rick Carlisle beat the Lakers too on the way to 1 title career. He has brought 3 different teams to the playoffs (Dallas, Indy, Detroit).
I believe Malone has a solid level. He brings some valuable things to a team. He improved Sacto when he was there and had Cousins playing good ball. However he seems to butt heads with his FO. Both destinations.
Carlisle. Malone. Vogel. All coaches who have solid careers and won a ring, even did well more than 1 team/situation. Championship level coaches if given talent.
Really 90 percent is the talent. That 10 percent is the coach. Even then,in the present day NBA after a bit the front office or the players seem to tune out the coach. Max I give a coach these days is 5 years. Even thatâs a stretch. Itâs real fast things can change for them the faith the players or FO has for them.
Ty Lue is seen as an elite coach, I feel thatâs maybe a comparable situation to JJ. Lue was also hand picked by Bron, from what I recall. Udoka another coach who seems to do really well, former player turned coach. These are the more successful player tuned into coaches, but Lue/Udoka were assistants for a long time.
JJ does seem he has what it takes to get to the level where he can be part of a title winning team. You just never felt that with Walton or Ham, even when they had elite talent. Heâs already way better than both Luke and Ham, IMO. |
Talent, and also timing.
Doug Collins won 50 games with 24 year old MJ, Rookie Scottie Pippen and Rookie Horace Grant, and takes them to the 2nd round. The next year, he takes them to the ECF. Phil Jackson comes in and goes to the ECF with them, and then the Finals the following year.
Did Phil make them that much better, or did 3rd year players improve over 1st year players?
Ditto the much maligned Mark Jackson. He takes 22 year old Steph & Rookie Klay from 23 to 47 to 51 wins, adding Rookies Dray/Harrison Barnes, and then gets fired for non-basketball reasons. Kerr comes in and immediately wins a ring.
Did Kerr unleash some Magic, or did that team just mature and peak?
In both cases, I think pretty much any coach (including the previously fired ones) would've won rings.
If Udoka doesn't have the sexual issue in Boston, does he take that team to a LOB? Absolutely, in my book.
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MJST
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 6:32 am Post subject: |
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| Dr. Laker wrote: | | wolfpaclaker wrote: | | MJST wrote: | Mike Malone is yet another example of a Coach that beat the Lakers and won one Championship and has his entire career and reputation after to thank for it.
Doc Rivers has an entire career because he beat the Lakers in the Finals once and never won anotther one after. Neither will Mike Malone. |
Rick Carlisle beat the Lakers too on the way to 1 title career. He has brought 3 different teams to the playoffs (Dallas, Indy, Detroit).
I believe Malone has a solid level. He brings some valuable things to a team. He improved Sacto when he was there and had Cousins playing good ball. However he seems to butt heads with his FO. Both destinations.
Carlisle. Malone. Vogel. All coaches who have solid careers and won a ring, even did well more than 1 team/situation. Championship level coaches if given talent.
Really 90 percent is the talent. That 10 percent is the coach. Even then,in the present day NBA after a bit the front office or the players seem to tune out the coach. Max I give a coach these days is 5 years. Even thatâs a stretch. Itâs real fast things can change for them the faith the players or FO has for them.
Ty Lue is seen as an elite coach, I feel thatâs maybe a comparable situation to JJ. Lue was also hand picked by Bron, from what I recall. Udoka another coach who seems to do really well, former player turned coach. These are the more successful player tuned into coaches, but Lue/Udoka were assistants for a long time.
JJ does seem he has what it takes to get to the level where he can be part of a title winning team. You just never felt that with Walton or Ham, even when they had elite talent. Heâs already way better than both Luke and Ham, IMO. |
Talent, and also timing.
Doug Collins won 50 games with 24 year old MJ, Rookie Scottie Pippen and Rookie Horace Grant, and takes them to the 2nd round. The next year, he takes them to the ECF. Phil Jackson comes in and goes to the ECF with them, and then the Finals the following year.
Did Phil make them that much better, or did 3rd year players improve over 1st year players?
Ditto the much maligned Mark Jackson. He takes 22 year old Steph & Rookie Klay from 23 to 47 to 51 wins, adding Rookies Dray/Harrison Barnes, and then gets fired for non-basketball reasons. Kerr comes in and immediately wins a ring.
Did Kerr unleash some Magic, or did that team just mature and peak?
In both cases, I think pretty much any coach (including the previously fired ones) would've won rings.
If Udoka doesn't have the sexual issue in Boston, does he take that team to a LOB? Absolutely, in my book. |
I think the only one that wouldn't win the ring is Mark Jackson. Because he wouldn't change the staff and sometimes staff adds a lot to it. The X's and O's matter in the offense and sometimes that's what makes it work. Mark Jackson had the defense down but he refused to budge on the offense.
Kerr came in and was willing to bring in Alvin Gentry who helped tool that offense along with what Kerr already knew from the triangle and Pop and modernize all that to fit that team like a glove and took it from a middle of the league offense to the best in the league along with their defense. I don't think Mark does that. He would have continued to rely on the team's talent and ability in the iso's but that's all he'd have relied upon. Kerr and Gentry giving it a system that took the shooting and scoring that skillful but treated it like a system that left teams often out on an island rather than in iso's at the end of shot clocks was insane to watch how the NBA had no answer for it.
It was like watching D'Antoni's offense if Popovich came up with it and their defense on top of that being top of the league, and it took a while for the league to adjust to that.
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SGV-Laker fan
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 7:04 am Post subject: |
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| but with the lakers you never know. too much jealousy people within Jeannie Buss' circle to mess a good thing up. i can definitely see after LeBron retires, Rambii and ex-show time gang will try to make moves to be more involved in JJ's coaching staff. |
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lakersfever714
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 7:43 am Post subject: |
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| danzag wrote: | | The lifespan of a NBA coach is really short nowadays, but JJ's situation really seems different. I think he'll be here for a long time. |
Pretty impressive rookie year by JJ considering he wasn't groomed under a great HC like Spo under Pat. Kerr didn't have much exp either but he was handed a literal championship contender. Lue also won the championship as a rookie but then he had prime LeBron.
All things considered, I think JJ has been the most accomplished rookie HC among all of the aforementioned.
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Hanging from Rafters
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 8:00 am Post subject: |
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| lakersfever714 wrote: | | danzag wrote: | | The lifespan of a NBA coach is really short nowadays, but JJ's situation really seems different. I think he'll be here for a long time. |
Pretty impressive rookie year by JJ considering he wasn't groomed under a great HC like Spo under Pat. Kerr didn't have much exp either but he was handed a literal championship contender. Lue also won the championship as a rookie but then he had prime LeBron.
All things considered, I think JJ has been the most accomplished rookie HC among all of the aforementioned. |
It would be good to get some continuity with the Lakersâ coaching staff over the next several years but these days you never know whatâs going to happen. Nurse, Vogel, Budenholzer, and Malone, were all fired just a couple years after winning a ship. It was a different era seemingly but LueâŚanother ship coachâŚwas fired too. Mem/Sac/Pho/LAL all fired their coach shortly after having the best season theyâve had in ~10years or more. Foston fired their successful coach too but for disciplinary reasons.
It seems the lifespan of coaches has dramatically changed. Theyâre not getting the benefit of the doubt for a rough patch even with relatively recent success, including 55+ win seasons, conference finals, ship appearances, or ship wins. Itâs tough to think about atm but thereâs limited tolerances among NBA coaches now days and I donât see any coachâŚthat goes for JJ tooâŚexempt from the new scrutiny. Maybe Kerr/Spo/Pop but if Malone can be fired then anyone else can. Is it the inability to maintain working relationships with players? GMs? Owners? I wonder what it is?
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lakersfever714
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 8:49 am Post subject: |
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| Dr. Laker wrote: | | lakersfever714 wrote: | Smart guys know who to hire good coaches so credit JJ for being able to see good and fitting coaches just like how he's able to see the game of basketball like no others.
It all comes with the territory of being smart. Man, if he's able to do this in his rookie year while still learning, imagine what he could do after about 5 years under his belt. |
Was JJ allowed to hire his own staff? I figured that Brooks & McMillan were "strongly suggested" by the FO, if not outright forced on him (like Jason Kidd was forced on Vogel). For a rookie coach, they generally need a veteran staff to track timeouts, fouls and help with end game strategy. |
He definitely must have had inputs.
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vasashi17+
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 1:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | IT WAS AROUND this time that former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski sent a text to his former player, first-year Lakers head coach JJ Redick, to check on him. Krzyzewski had always watched NBA games, but he'd been paying especially close attention to the Lakers this season.
"I reached out to him and said, 'Who the hell would've predicted you could teach defense?'" Krzyzewski joked.
"What they're doing seems very simple," Krzyzewski told ESPN, "but it's actually a lot of preparation. They make it where the other team's lower-percentage shooters are taking more shots."
It might sound simple: Make it hard for the other team's best players to score while encouraging less dangerous shooters. But the Lakers' scheme is far more complicated than that, and it was born out of offseason analysis by Redick and his staff on how NBA defenses are allowed to play by referees against modern space-and-shoot NBA offenses.
Even with a brilliant individual defender such as Davis, who is as good of a rim protector as there is in the league, it's virtually impossible to slow down the modern NBA superstar in pick-and-roll actions in space because of how much 3-point shooting is emphasized.
Most teams focus on acquiring perimeter defenders to at least slow down superstars before they meet a back-line defender like Davis. But with the way referees call hand-checking fouls now, even that is difficult.
The Lakers came into the season with another problem: two weak one-on-one perimeter defenders as their starting guards in D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves. So they developed a defensive scheme to mitigate that vulnerability -- and save Davis from an exhausting amount of work as a backline defender.
The Lakers, the thinking went, would create the illusion of a crowded floor for the ball handler rather than funnel everyone to Davis.
It worked in spurts during the first half of the season. But the Lakers' defensive scheme stiffened once L.A. traded for Finney-Smith in late December and he became a bigger part of the rotation a few weeks later.
Star players are always going to find ways to score. What the Lakers do is use analytics to break down the least efficient shots each star player takes and then try to force them into taking those shots, as opposed to their most efficient shots.
The Lakers limit shots in the paint -- just 39.9% of the shots attempted against them have come from inside, the NBA's third-lowest rate, per GeniusIQ, an AI-powered sports analytics site -- and force 3s; 49% of the shots they face come from deep, the NBA's second-highest mark.
This is intentional. The Lakers send a double-team inside the arc at the second-highest rate in basketball, trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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| Quote: | REDICK PLACED JAMES at the center of this decision-making tree, relying on his basketball IQ to call out coverages and adjustments on the fly. "Quarterback is an offensive position, but he's the quarterback on [our] defense," Redick said. "A lot of that is his voice and his IQ."
Watch the Lakers closely on defense, and James is the director, constantly pointing to where his teammates need to go -- and when.
"There's was a play in the first half where [Reaves] switched onto a big," Redick noted after a recent win over the Rockets. "Within half a second, Bron was screaming at him, 'Scram! Get Out, AR! Get out of here!' Plays like that really connect our defense."
The Lakers have struggled when James isn't on the court, playing that quarterback role. They fell off noticeably when James sustained a left groin strain during a March 8 game vs. the Boston Celtics. But they got back in sync once James returned from that injury March 22. From Jan. 30 until the end of the regular season, L.A. ranked sixth in 3-point field goal percentage allowed. It also defended the eighth-most 3-point attempts per game during that span.
In other words, the Lakers gave up a lot of 3-point attempts, but teams didn't make very many of them. According to GeniusIQ, opponents have shot 36.8% on wide-open 3-pointers against the Lakers since Jan. 30, the third-best rate "allowed" over that stretch.
Why? Because the Lakers are forcing the least efficient shooters on opposing teams to take those 3s.
How? By communicating until they lose their voices -- sometimes literally.
James leads the chorus when he's out there, but Jarred Vanderbilt, Finney-Smith and Vincent also step into that role when James isn't on the court. There's also constant direction coming from the sideline during defensive possessions. Assistant coach Greg St. Jean is often hoarse from barking out coverages.
The result has been a defense that has performed much better as a whole than its individual defenders might suggest. "People might look at us and say we're going small," Reaves told ESPN of the Lakers' often centerless lineups without a traditional rim protector following the trade of Davis to the Mavericks. "But we also have five guys that are 6-foot-7 and above out there ... and when we're playing well, we're all on a string."
At times, that can look like a zone defense as the Lakers pack the paint and rotate to close off gaps and passing lanes. But it's not a zone. It's a blend of modern analytics and old-school, Bobby Knight-style denial of whoever is one pass away from a good shot.
The goal is to play the percentages. To disrupt what the other team wants to do as much as possible. To force great players to take bad or average shots. But also to cajole average players to shoot more by giving up good shots.
It takes time and trust in the scheme to play this way effectively. When that trust fails, so does the defense. Sometimes spectacularly. But it's the best chance the Lakers have after trading away two of their best defensive players.
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https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44722872/stifling-confusing-lebron-james-led-los-angeles-lakers-defense
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tox
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Joined: 16 Nov 2015
Posts: 20927
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| Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 1:43 pm Post subject: |
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| The thing that makes JJ such a nice choice for head coach is you can hire relatively washed has beens like McMillan and Brooks for their strengths and not worry about how they're not caught up with the modern game... because JJ himself is that hyper-competitive basketball nerd who lives and breathes the game. JJ knows what all the good teams do and so he can infuse that into the entire coaching staff |
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