Anthony Davis At Center Again? The Lakers Have No Choice
The Lakers may again have to choose between winning and risking injury
Another dispatch from the road, this time as I tagged along on a quick trip my wife had to make for work down to the Gulf Coast. Our 10-year anniversary was on Sunday and we decided not to spend it apart, so off we went with our 6-year-old in tow, a family on the road.
In what figures to be a consistent theme in this substack, the work-from-home life does have its perks in regards to mobility, with only WiFi and imagination limiting productivity on the go. There are certain drawbacks as well, but the ability to go on spontaneous adventures isn’t one of them.
Speaking of adventures, the sports world is continuing to heat up with the NBA regular season just a week away, the NFL still rolling (even if my fantasy teams aren’t), MLB and MLS Playoffs starting up, and the World Cup just around the corner.
The weather is getting colder, the leaves are turning, and we are hitting peak sports-watching season, my favorite time of year. Speaking of which, NBA League Pass has drastically dropped its pricing this season, so if you want to be able to watch ALL the basketball it’s now easier than ever to pull the trigger.
My last article on the Draymond Green situation brought a number of new subscribers to Lane’s Letters, so welcome to those of you just joining. If you haven’t subscribed yet, use the link below to do so and get my latest delivered straight to your inbox as soon as it’s published. I’ve found the Substack app to be extremely helpful as well, so give that a look if you are the type that likes to read on your mobile device, and please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to get access to every bit of content plus a few other perks1.
Transaction Turmoil
We are seeing a number of NBA teams make transactions with their end of the bench and beyond spots, leaving some fans puzzled over what’s going on with all of these players that they have mostly never heard of2, some of whom haven’t even played a game for their team.
Case in point, my Lakers waived Dwayne Bacon and Javonte McCoy so that they could sign LJ Figueroa and Shaquille Harrison. Then, a few days later they waived Figueroa in order to sign Bryce Hamilton. Figueroa didn’t appear in any games for the Lakers and NBA teams have to cut their rosters down from 20 players to 15 plus a pair of two-way players prior to the start of the season. So what’s the point of all of these moves?
These transactions are about the G League and getting players, in this case, to the South Bay Lakers. So while the flurry of moves may seem strange, there is method to the madness. The ever-growing G League is becoming something closer to a true minor league for the NBA, and teams are rightly putting more of a focus on it, hoping that they can use it to find the next diamond in the rough.
Sharpshooting wing Matt Ryan may be on the verge of earning himself a spot with the Lakers this season after spending last year with the Maine Red Claws Celtics3 and Boston Celtics. Alex Caruso famously spent a season with the Oklahoma City Blue before an impressive Summer League battle with De’Aaron Fox won him the Lakers’ first-ever two-way contract. Now, he's an NBA Champion that earned a big payday.
Point being, these days overlooking the G League is a big mistake.
Many of the players coming across the transaction wire right now will never make a major impact at the NBA level, but those who do can be found gold for teams who get rotation players sometimes without having to spend draft capital on them. The hit rate is low, but the reward for finding talent in the G League is massive, making the cumbersome scramble of G League-focused transactions worthwhile for teams in terms of return on investment.
Anthony Davis, Stuck In The Middle Again
This substack won’t always be Lakers-centric, but they do have an interesting predicament on their hands in regards to Anthony Davis, and it isn’t (totally) injury related.
New head coach Darvin Ham may be on the verge of already conceding that Davis will need to play center again this season, saying after practice on Monday that it’s under “heavy consideration”, despite bringing in bigs Thomas Bryant and Damian Jones in the offseason.
Even with those two in the fold, it’s becoming clear that the Lakers still need Davis at the five, and frankly, Davis himself may need to be there as well, as evidenced by his 28 points in just 21 minutes against the Warriors on Sunday night. It was a promising exhibition for Davis, who needs a bounce-back season to reclaiming his spot near the top of the NBA’s talent hierarchy. It may have been Russell Westbrook who dominated the offseason headlines, with questions about his trade market and how to make a fit that is Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor-level of awkward work, but the Lakers will go as far as Davis & LeBron James can take them.
And that means getting the very best out of Davis has to be the priority for the Lakers.
He has the ability to be a difference-maker on both ends of the floor, an MVP and DPOY-caliber talent rolled into one. Davis hasn’t quite hit that level of play since the Lakers won the championship in 2020 but will need to find that quality again for the team to have success this season.
And Davis, statistically, is closer to being that destroyer of worlds as a center than a power forward.
According to Cleaning The Glass, last season the Lakers averaged 101.4 points per 100 possessions with Davis at power forward and 108.7 with him at center. His offensive efficiency increases when he’s able to exploit bigger, slower defenders, particularly when his outside jumper isn’t falling, as it wasn’t last season.
On paper, Davis at center is also the preferred option for both Westbrook and James, opening up lanes on offense by drawing the attention of the opposing big and increasing the switchability of their defense thanks to his ability to defend anything, anywhere.
Beyond Davis being his best self at the five, neither of the alternative options, Jones or Bryant, has impressed thus far. The sample size is small with just four preseason games under their belt making it too soon to write them off, but the center spot has been clearly up for grabs and they haven’t done enough to stake claim to it.
Instead, it’s looking more likely that it will be Davis doing the heavy lifting in the middle again4, which brings us back to questions about durability. The assertion has been that playing center carries with it more of a physical toll than power forward, and as such, Davis will be more likely to stay healthy if he is at the four.
Ham has made the point, however, that the number of bruising bigs that would physically punish an opponent is not what it used to be. There is no Shaquille O’Neal or even prime Dwight Howard in today’s NBA, and matchups against throwback enforcers like Steven Adams or Jonas Valanciunas could be managed through roster flexibility. Simply start Davis at center most nights and when he’s faced with a smashmouth center plug in Jones or Bryant to act as his shield.
There is also a domino effect to Davis being at the five in that it requires the Lakers to play smaller in general, such as my preferred lineup of Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, Austin Reaves, James, and Davis. The challenge with such a grouping is that their lack of size could be a concern for a team that has already struggled with giving up offensive rebounds in preseason. It also puts more of a strain on the depth of the wing position, which was an area the Lakers were not able to adequately address for the gazillionth consequetive offseason.
That said, the good of Davis playing center would appear to outweigh the bad, particularly if it turns Davis back into “that guy”. Let’s just hope, for once, that the injury bug stays away.
Quick Notes
The Dodgers are kicking off the NLDS against the Padres tonight. As my colleague Jeff Spiegel of Dodger Blue noted, losing to the Padres would be “miserable”, which is why some Dodger fans prefered a matchup with the Mets instead. The flip side, of course, is that victory over the Padres would also taste sweeter. A lot on the line, emotionally, for the boys in blue.
Player interviews are always fun to do; it’s interesting hearing their perspective. I had a chance to interview a number of players during the Lakers’ preseason games in Las Vegas, and Lonnie Walker was a standout. He related getting back on the floor and ramping up post-ankle injury to “playing in Timbs”.
Something to watch: Austin Reaves made it clear in an interview with myself and Sean Davis on the Lakers Nation Podcast that he wants to play point guard. He understands that may not be possible with the current makeup of the team but that’s where he wants his career to go. He’s a free agent this summer, though the Lakers can make him restricted and his contract can be limited due to the Gilbert Arenas rule.
We continue to see changes sweeping the NFL’s concussion policy as a result of the Tua Tagavailoa incident, and rightly so. As I noted here, change would come, it’s just a shame that it took such a scary moment for it to happen.
What are some perks subscribers would want? A Twitter group to talk sports in? Q & A sessions? Article topic input? Give me your thoughts in the comment section
I keep waiting for a team to throw in a few fake names just to see who is paying attention. They could probably get away with it. I’m sure Keith Smith will do it to me at some point on the Front Office Show. Somehow, he knows everyone, even the most obscure players. It’s wild.
I understand the desire to capitalize on strong brand names like “Lakers" and “Celtics” but naming the G League team the same thing as the parent club is boring, lazy, and awkward. Red Claws was great! D-Fenders needed work, but there is a real opportunity to have some fun and be creative with G League names. Who doesn’t love the Birmingham Squadron or Sioux Falls SkyForce? So much better than the Agua Caliente Clippers or Stockton Kings.
Unless, of course, a trade manifests itself, like one to land say Myles Turner.
Regarding Ryan, I haven’t seen enough from Pippen jr. to keep him on a 2-way, I would rather move Ryan to a 2-way because he wouldn’t crack the rotation currently but this still allows him game time to develop and call ups if any injuries / rest occur.
I’m skeptical of AD at the 5. I would love to know a breakdown of injuries sustained at positions. It’s not just the toll of banging against bruising centres (english spelling), it’s the screen setting, the contesting shots in traffic, it’s being the sole big to crash boards. In my mind AD’s two best individual seasons have been at NO playing with Boogie and then championship year. The problem is fit though as LA’s best players are smaller, so for talent purposes it might be best. I would want some flexibility where against Milwaukee, New Orleans, etc. to play 2 bigs so you don’t have Lebron guarding Zion and Giannis single handedly. I’ve always liked a twin towers approach and think AD as a help defender with another athletic big like Jones gives you significant upgrade on rim protection / rebounding. If only they had a legit centre to play alongside AD!
Love the piece. Thank you for explaining all of those transactions. In terms of Anthony Davis, it's no secret that he is best optimized playing center on offense and power forward on defense. A floor spacing, mobile rim protector like Myles Turner would enable that.