the Lakers with LeBron at Center…

[BeatDaCavs420]

Bulls have won 9 in a row

You should start a thread.

I def should. But unlike Lebron and lakers fans(Marcusss) I don't need to make a thread after every game lol

[Liam_Gallagher]

Their small ball has been a success. Ariza and Stanley Johnson have also been very effective pesky defenders. Westbrook has also dialed it down a few notches and is making sound basketball plays. When AD returns this team’s no joke:

G - Westbrook/Nunn
G - Monk/THT/Ellington
F - Bradley/Reaves
F - James/Anthony/Ariza/Johnson
C - Davis/Howard

[Pythagoras]

Bulls have won 9 in a row

You should start a thread.

I def should. But unlike Lebron and lakers fans(Marcusss) I don't need to make a thread after every game lol

Were you also complaining about the barrage of Lakers/Westbrook threads when they where struggling? It’s one thread. It would have cost you nothing to just not post it in.

[Brandon-Clyde]

The tallest player the Blazers had vs the Lakers was 6'8" Reggie Perry. After that it was Larry Nance Jr at 6'7" and then the rest of the roster that played was essentially 6'5" or less. Portland was missing CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, Cody Zeller, Nassir Little, Robert Covington and Anfernee Simons and Dame was playing injured.It was essentially a G league roster with only two healthy NBA starting quality players in Nance and Powell. To include that game as a real part of whether Lebron is doing well at center just not really representative of reality.

[dautjazz]

Will Lebron wear down playing bigger players. Is one BLK a game enough rim protection with all the older players.

Does it make a HUGE difference if he gets 1 or 2bpg? As long as he contains his opponent that's what matters. I doubt there are many centers that are going to abuse Lebron. I suppose Embiid or Jokic could probably have their way, but there may be a handful (if even) of players that can defend these guys. I imagine this is just temporary anyways until AD returns.

[jehosafats]

What is a center at this point? These days centers can act like combo guards. Easy adjustment for Lebron.

If your argument is he isn't going to defend regardless of the position you are still wrong in terms of defensive side of the ball. Lakers are -31 ORB in last 4 games and it's purely down to playing bad teams that they are on a winning streak. Lebron allows constantly offensive rebounds/putbacks and free layups because he doesn't play help defense at all nor cover the 3 point line as a center.

They might regress defensively and come up with fewer rebounds, but the offensive adjustment isn't as drastic as it seems. Even average sized teams play small like this anyway.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

What is a center at this point? These days centers can act like combo guards. Easy adjustment for Lebron.

LeBron at center will work against most teams, it wouldn't work against the Sixers, Bulls or Nuggets.

[Pythagoras]

Will Lebron wear down playing bigger players. Is one BLK a game enough rim protection with all the older players.

Does it make a HUGE difference if he gets 1 or 2bpg? As long as he contains his opponent that's what matters. I doubt there are many centers that are going to abuse Lebron. I suppose Embiid or Jokic could probably have their way, but there may be a handful (if even) of players that can defend these guys. I imagine this is just temporary anyways until AD returns.

This. Amare Stoudamire spent half a decade playing an excelling as small ball C. Lebron will be fine for spurts here and there.

[cupcakesnake]

Getting wins is a good thing, and the Lakers finding a mini foothold in the middle of the season with AD out is nothing but positive.

But, like a few teams that are winning right now, the wins are coming against pretty soft opponents. The defense isn't looking anywhere near okay either.

Their last 6 games, since they've started playing mostly Lebron at center (Dwight started vs. Memphis but only played 16 minutes), they've had a defensive rating of 111, which is like... Detroit Pistons level. They've also gotten away with this mostly because the other team is missing their center. T-Wolves with KAT, Blazers without Nurk and Zeller, Kings without Holmes.

They’ve also posted a 121 ORating during this stretch. They’ve been far more dominant offensively than they’ve been bad defensively. They also played Capela and Adams during this stretch.

Right but when they played Adams, they got completely mauled on the glass, giving up 13 offensive rebounds and ultimately losing the game. Capela is a bit less of a punisher of small lineups, but I give credit to the Lakers for blowing out the Hawks.

The Lakers this year, have been an okay defensive team and a pretty awful offensive team. With Davis out, the Lakers have become offensive slanted at the expense of their defense. This 5-1 stretch is a big deal for them, especially with their schedule getting pretty ouchie at the end of January (6 game road trip featuring Brooklyn, Miami, Phili). But ripping through some very injured and weak teams with offense doesn't inspire me to like the Lakers much more in the big picture.

To me, the only thing that matters, is if the Lakers can fundamentally become a different and better team when Davis comes back. Heavy minute small-ball 5 Lebron lineups aren't a permanent solution, but they're keeping the Lakers afloat for now. This is still a team with a negative point differential that is probably only in the playoff picture because of a heavy home schedule (24 home games, 16 road games). By the numbers they've been the 10th best team in the West so far. Playing a 37 year old Lebron heavy minutes as a center, can't feel amazing as anything other than a short term boost.

[Pythagoras]

To me, the only thing that matters, is if the Lakers can fundamentally become a different and better team when Davis comes back.

On this, we agree.

[draftnightsuit]

They’re beating up on garbage teams filled with replacements.

[MoneyMo]

Bulls have won 9 in a row

Wait until you meet playoff Derozan.

[C0bR]

It's somewhat working but I don't get the point of playing small while starting Stanley Johnson who negates all the spacing advantage you get from putting LeBron on 5.

[HEAT33]

It’s a watered down league at the moment. I just wish this Covid would go away so we can see some real basketball

[Mamba Mentality]

Over the last six games we’re first in offensive rating at 122.9 but the caveat is that we’ve played against four of the worst defensive teams in the league. We’re currently 13th in defensive rating at 111.9 (I think we had creeped up to 11 right before AD got injured). Sure, Lebron at the 5 has been a good short term fix, but against quality opponents I think we’ll get run off the floor. Hopefully watching Lebron play the five injects some life into AD.

[R-DAWG]

Moving Lebron to C has helped, but adding Stanley Johnson and moving Monk to the starting lineup have also both been positive adjustments as well. AD will be back soon and Lebron won’t have to play quite as many minutes at C, but honestly, I’d rather he play C all game than see the corpse of Jordan out there. Vogel basically flushed the first quarter of this season with that moronic experiment.

Also we should point out how good Avery Bradley has been for the Lakers. He can still play and has given the Lakers the veteran 3 and D glue guy that they thought Kent Bazemore would be going into the season. Combine that with Stanley Johnson, who gives the Lakers young legs/athleticism in the front court that is desperately needed. The ripple effect has allowed THT to go back to a bench role, where he can play to his strengths, not be forced to be a 3 and D guy in the starting lineup. And as you mentioned above, Malik Monk has really played well and become the teams consistent 2nd scoring option with Davis injured.

The Lakers rotation is starting to come together. The teams was built around stars (James, Davis, Westbrook) and a mix of youth (Nunn, Monk, THT) and seasoned vets. Bradley, Carmelo, Dwight and Ariza are now the only vets getting minutes, and guys like Johnson and Reaves have been giving the Lakers quality minutes. Add Davis and Nunn back to the mix, combined with a buyout guys or 2 (Gary Harris seems like he will be bought out and the Lakers can guarantee him a starting spot) and the Lakers will be right there in the mix to win the West. Because the way Lebron is playing, you can make the case that he's still the best player in the league.

[R-DAWG]

Will Lebron wear down playing bigger players. Is one BLK a game enough rim protection with all the older players.

Your not going to get away with Lebron at C against teams that have true centers who need to be defended, which is basically Denver, PHX, Philly and MIN with Towns healthy. The way the Lakers are designed they don't even want to go long stretches' with Davis at C against those lineups. And Dwight is more than adequate as a backup in that role.

Really what the Lakers need is to add a big body can can eat minutes bruising in the paint against those teams while also stretching's the floor on offense. Mike Muscala would be in perfect in that role and 2 minimum contracts and 1-2 2nd rd picks should be able to get that kind of trade done.

Lebron/Davis and 3 shooters works.

[jc23]

that wont jive in the playoffs baby.

[OriginalRed]

The Lakers can get away with Lebron at the 5 because alot of teams they've played recently don't have dominant centers to punish them for it. Against most of these bad teams that play small, Lebron at the 5 is a revelation because he doesn't have to worry about banging down low against a big body and can spread the floor with 4 shooters around him. It also helps that Lebron is a genetic freak that rarely gets hurt or injured so they have far more leeway with him as opposed to AD whose body always seems to just break down.

[Statlanta]

LeBron at Center is a RS lineup. This isn't gonna fly in the post season.