How the Lakers can win their 18th championship.
It’s been over four years since the Los Angeles Lakers won their 17th NBA championship. The 2020 Lakers team was a big, defensive-minded bunch that slowed the game down and executed late. Since then, the Lakers have abandoned that approach. Below are three things the Lakers must prioritize to get back to the Finals.
3. Point-Lebron
This past Olympics, Lebron James won the tournament MVP as the primary ball handler for Team USA. He also served as the “point guard” for the Lakers in 2020, usually paired with wings Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell Pope.
James is one of the best passers in League history, with over 11,000 assists. Having him initiate the offense puts immense pressure on the defense, especially in transition. However, the most prominent luxury of having James at the one is that it allows the Lakers to have two wings on the perimeter, giving them a lot of flexibility defensively.
Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russel have been in the backcourt for the past few seasons, with James at the three. Reaves and Russell are two of the Lakers best creators offensively, averaging 14.4 and 17.7 points per game, respectively. The downside is that the Lakers haven’t had a top 10 defense with the duo as their starting backcourt. In their championship season, they finished third, and the year after, they finished first.
The Lakers need to return to that style of basketball, and James’s presence as a point guard gives them the necessary flexibility. With their current roster, a trio like James, Reaves, and Rui Hachimura is worth considering.
2. Move Anthony Davis to the four.
In addition to a bigger backcourt, the Lakers need to be comfortable playing Anthony Davis alongside a center. Besides personally requesting it on a few occasions, Davis was at the 4 with either Dwight Howard or Javale Mcgee during their championship run.
As mentioned above, the pairing led to the league’s top defense. It also gave James another Vertical threat to man the pick-and-roll with. The Lakers have never been an elite three-point shooting team, so easy paint buckets are something they desperately need.
The Lakers signed Christian Koloko, a 7’1 “athletic center, to a two-way contract. It’s hard to say how much or if he can contribute, but it’s a step in the right direction. Jaxson Hayes picked up his option as well and will be returning. A Davis/Hayes lineup is something they could experiment with. Christian Wood had a procedure on his left knee and will be out for at least eight weeks, but he could also fill the role.
1. Better offensive execution.
If the Lakers make the adjustments above, the defensive end should be much better off. The wings’ size should allow for switches, and the added length with Davis and a big allows for more paint protection and rebounding.
Due to the lack of shooting, it’s challenging for a team like the Lakers to be a top ten offensive team; however, they can hone in on what they do well: dominating the paint and controlling the game down the stretch.
JJ Reddick was just hired as head coach; he needs to implement sets that get James, Hachimura, and Davis touches in the paint within the flow of an offense. Too many times last year, Darwin Ham resorted to one-on-one post-ups or isolations for Davis and James. Both are great one -on -one players, but that can’t be the end all be all.
Laker’s offense must flow with second and third reads to limit stagnation and generate easy buckets. During the championship season, the Lakers were a record-breaking 57-0 (playoffs and regular season), heading to the fourth quarter with a lead. That’s the type of execution they need to get back to.
James only has so much time left; it’ll be interesting to see how his remaining years play out, but with him and Davis together, the Lakers always have a chance.