Ryan Kelly at Center

[milesfides]

Recent article from Mark Media about Ryan Kelly:

http://www.insidesocal.com/lakers/2016/01/12/lakers-ryan-kelly-fighting-frustration-with-limited-playing-time/


Ryan Kelly's been playing really well in his limited minutes, 17, 11, 2 blks Per 36, shooting 49%. He's also been tearing up the d-league. But there's a logjam at the power forward, with the emergence of Larry Nance, and of course Julius Randle, and even Bass.

There's a logical alternative: play Kelly at Center.

There's little point in playing Hibbert. He is most likely gone this summer, after the worst season of his career. Scare is just limited. I'd like to see more of Black too, but he's inherently undersized, he can't block any shots, rim protection is non existent.

Conventional wisdom says go with a rim protector, but these guys are scarce and/or limited in some serious ways. There just aren't many out there who won't kill your team in some way. And if they don't have major weaknesses, they're franchise players and unattainable. So instead of setting for the best available among weak candidates, we should flip the script and go with a nonconventional center. At least this year.

Hell, San Antonio puts Boris Diaw at center for the same reasons.
The Cavs have moved away from Mozgov and are rolling with Tristan Thompson.

And Kelly, at 7 feet has the length. He blocks shots, he covers, rotates, switches, draws charges. What he lacks in mass he has plenty in smarts - he's probably our smartest big man defender, this was obvious even in his rookie year.

Sure, it might fail, but it's worth the experiment. We literally have nothing to lose - we create an asset, and we don't have to burn money overpaying some compromised center in FA. Instead, we can save it for the legit superstars.

We've got nothing to lose, and a hell of a lot to gain.

[The Prodigy]

I'm nowhere near as high on Kelly as you are but hell, why not? If there was ever a time to experiment, this is it.

[milesfides]

He's 7 feet, he can handle the ball like a guard, he moves the damn ball, he's unselfish, and he knows how to play defense far better than most big men, the one thing that's been disappointing has been his shot - because he's supposed to be a shooter. But it's still a big enough threat for a center, and if that comes around, he's really going to be a complete modern center.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtDTj7mGH0E[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKxAhXLViuk[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7A7XlCZ-50[/youtube]

[Slava]

Pretty sure we've tried a line up with Bass and Kelly as the bigs to start the season and it was atrocious on defense resulting in a -24.5 point differential over 32 mins. Actually even rebounding wise that was a terrible line up.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/2016/lineups/

I love me some Kelly but he should be playing PF around a Black/Russell pick and roll on this team to be effective.

[milesfides]

And that wouldn't have anything to do with Huertas, Nick Young, and Lou Williams on the floor?

[Slava]

And that wouldn't have anything to do with Huertas, Nick Young, and Lou Williams on the floor?

Look at the rebounding differential, I think that explains a lot along with the difference in FG%. Bass has improved a ton since then so may be its worth a go once again but I don't see any line ups with Kelly as a center gain a lot traction.

[milesfides]

Considering Kelly is averaging 11 rebounds per 36, albeit in a small sample size, I don't think looking at an even more limited sample size to discredit his rebounding and defense makes more sense. Certainly Kelly wouldn't be averaging more rebounds as a forward than a center.

I'm not trying to look too deeply at the numbers either. Simply that we should try it. We have nothing to lose.

Anthony Brown was the worst player in the NBA until a couple weeks ago, when he started getting more of an opportunity. Kelly's looking noticeably better, even his body looks thicker, and he's crushing it in the d-league, so why not spend a fair stretch of games to give him a chance?

It's in everybody's interest, except for Hibbert who is gone anyways.

[Levity]

would be interesting to see. but the reason diaw and thompson work at C is because theyre both strong with a steady core. kelly looks like a more fragile olynk out there. but again, would be interesting to see and could significantly help randles game.

[crazyeights]

Ryan Kelly's combine wingspan is actually shorter than Julius Randle's, who many felt was too short to play PF, but hey screw it!

Also he's not really a 7-footer unless he's got 2"+ shoes.

My gut reaction was this was ridiculous. But while Hibbert leads the team in DRPM, offensively he's even more of a drag. It doesn't make much sense to keep playing dinosaurs like Roy and Sacre, especially when they don't really post-up.

I like Ryan Kelly, and I hope Byron experiments more. Would be interesting to see Nance and Kelly play together as they're both quality team players. I've also like Kelly's aggressiveness in his super limited time this year.

Having said that, I've like Bass's recent play at center. I really wonder if the issue with Bass earlier in the season wasn't injury related, so who knows, maybe Kelly could work. While you're at it, why not experiment with a Nance/Kelly/Randle lineup? I'm all for turning orthodoxies into strengths.

[miggs]

True, experiments should be done with various line ups

Ive been all for a set pf line up of Randle-Nance-Kelly unless Kelly is seeking more than a the 10-12 mpg he could get here. I definitely like him out there with a defensive rim protecting center like a Ezeli-Marjanovic-Noah type of guy, this is for back up roles of course.

[miggs]

Also at 1.7 mil the guy is a great bargain, hes almost always good for a 3ptr and 2 rebs.

If hes interested id love to bring him back at like 3 yrs/8 mil area

[ALL HAIL]

I agree.

Most informed posters here know that Kelly is an "NBA player", and he would flourish in an ideal role.

I said it a few weeks back, and I'll say it again, if he can play center (which he is capable of), he will cement himself firmly in the league and secure himself a great deal of dough in the process.

I've always seen him as an offensive backup center in the mold if Bill Wennington.

He can definitely play center.

[milesfides]

Ryan Kelly's standing reach: 9 feet 2 inches
Julius Randle's standing reach: 8 feet 9.5" inches

That's almost 5 inches difference in reach. Kelly's standing reach is the same as Andrew Bogut's, Andre Drummond's, Karl Anthony Towns, and better than Joakim Noah's, Al Horford's, Greg Monroe's, etc.

Also, eye-test says Kelly is just about 7 feet on the floor, whereas Randle is short for a power forward, regardless of what his wingspan was measured as (which has been as low as 6'10")

Anyways, this isn't about Randle, who can't play center.

If somebody said, there's a 24-year-old 7-footer who does nothing amazing, but he can shoot, put the ball on the floor and finish, pass, make heady plays, is unselfish, plays good team defense, draws charges, blocks shots, and might even be a solid rebounder now...

I'd want to trade for him today, except he's already on our team.

[Mirjalovic]

It's funny since Randle infinitely better than Ryan "i turnover the ball every time i drive" Kelly. I never thought people would love Kelly more than blue chip propsect like Randle.

About shooting, when he was wide open, he NEVER shot the **** ball. Talk about tall version of shannon brown.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LApwnd]

Why not, can only help the tank

[milesfides]

It's funny since Randle infinitely better than Ryan "i turnover the ball every time i drive" Kelly.

What's even funnier is that Randle turns the ball over at twice the rate of Ryan Kelly, 2.5 times per 36 compared to 1.2, so yes, that's pretty hilarious

[ArC_man]

Are you really using per 36 numbers on a guy who's only played 128 minutes this season? Not to mention aside from the first 4 games of the season (where he shot 6/19 and 1/8 from 3pt) he's only been playing in garbage time in blowout losses.

[Mirjalovic]

It's funny since Randle infinitely better than Ryan "i turnover the ball every time i drive" Kelly.

What's even funnier is that Randle turns the ball over at twice the rate of Ryan Kelly, 2.5 times per 36 compared to 1.2, so yes, that's pretty hilarious

Beast supposedly create his own offense, while Kelly asked for spotting up and do nothing other than shooting.

Can't see the context behind the stats ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TylersLakers]

May as well try everything at this point.

But he's awful. Regardless of what numbers say, he's awful. He's shot better of late when he has played, but the last two years have just been completely underwhelming.

[TKainZero]

Well... Why not... Worth trying anything now