Lakerholics

With Markieff Morris replacing JaVale McGee, the Lakers may have found the perfect version of small ball to unleash superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and a new starting lineup to lead them to a championship.

While starting Morris was tactically done to better matchup with the small ball Houston Rockets, how the Lakers played on offense and defense with Markieff in the lineup could convince Vogel to make the move permanent. The speed and quickness Morris brought turbo-charged the Lakers’ defense and the his ability to spread the floor with 3-point shooting clearly opened up the paint and empowered LeBron and AD to attack the rim on offense.

Starting Morris instead of McGee makes the Lakers more versatile at both ends of the court with only a small sacrifice in terms of size since Markieff is still 6′ 8′ and 245 pounds and able to play and defend the center position. When you consider Anthony Davis is 6′ 10,” LeBron James 6′ 9,” Danny Green 6′ 6,” and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 6′ 5,” the Lakers’ lineup with Markieff Morris at the five is clearly not your prototype small ball lineup.

Frankly, ‘small ball’ is a total misnomer for the Lakers’ lineup with Morris instead of McGee because it’s not a ‘small’ lineup. It’s a ‘skilled’ lineup where all 5 players can handle, pass, and shoot the ball and play defense. It’s a versatile lineup that can easily match up with any style of play or opponent. It can play big or small, fast or slow, inside or outside, offense or defense, which makes it the ideal Lakers’ lineup to start or finish games.

While many believe Vogel inserted Morris into the starting lineup for his offense, the more likely reason Frank made the change was defense, which is why he may elect to continue starting him going forward in the playoffs. Defense has always been Vogel’s calling card and the heart of his decisions and the speed and quickness of the Lakers’ defensive rotations in the second half of Game 3 and first half of Game 4 were championship caliber.

That defensive velocity and intensity is something the Lakers can’t duplicate with JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard in the lineup. It could be the Lakers’ version of the ‘death lineup’ that fueled the Warriors’ three championships. That raises the possibility of Vogel opting to continue starting McGee and deploying the higher energy Morris lineup as at strategic points in games where the Lakers need stops like Kerr did with the Warriors death lineup.

Designed to accelerate the Lakers’ ability to rotate and run shooters off the 3-point line and cruise the passing lanes, the Lakers’ version of small ball was also elite at blocking shots with James and Davis protecting the rim. Whether Vogel decides to start Markieff Morris or emulate the Warriors and deploy the Lakers’ new version of small ball as a wild card coming off the bench to lock down games, he’s found a game-changing defensive weapon.

As important as the Morris lineup will be to the Lakers’ defense, don’t discount how his presence in the lineup impacts the Lakers’ offense and unleashes superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis to attack the rim. Vogel may start Markieff because of his ability to stretch the floor. He’s clearly a better 3-point shooter than Green, which is what makes the Lakers’ small ball version better offensively than the Warriors’ ‘death lineup.’

When you take into consideration the ability of the Lakers’ version of small ball to run 5-out sets to create more space and unclog the paint for LeBron and AD to attack the rim, it makes better sense for Vogel to start this lineup. The Lakers have struggled starting games and halves this season, often due to opponents packing the paint and forcing them to settle for jumpers instead of attacking the rim. Starting out going small could change that.

While defense certainly wins championships, you also need great offensive performances by your superstars, which is why unleashing the power of LeBron James and Anthony Davis is so important for the Lakers to triumph. The defensive strategy to beat the Lakers by the Clippers or whomever will clearly be to pack the paint to stop LeBron and AD from attacking. Playing 5-out with Markieff Morris and spreading the floor is the counter to that.

Great teams become great because of facing great challenges, which is why I’ve always been in favor of the Lakers having the Blazers, Rockets, and Clippers as their likely opponents on the road to their 17th championship. Facing two teams with loaded back courts and divergent styles like the Blazers and and Rockets has helped make the Lakers a better basketball team and may have given them the blueprint for winning a championship.

Everybody knows Daryl Morey, Mike D’Antoni, and the Houston Rockets went all-in on analytics-driven small ball with five players under 6′ 7″ with layups, free throws, and 3-point shots being their blueprint for scoring.

Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers took the Morey and D’Antoni Rockets to school and put on an elite clinic on how to shut down the three scoring keys Houston’s small ball offense relies upon to destroy opposing defenses. After a first half shootout, the Lakers doubled and forced Harden to give up the ball, hounded and chased Houston’s shooters off the 3-point line, and protected the rim without fouling with a swarm of mobile shot blockers.

The result was a second half where the Lakers’ defense shut down the small ball Rockets’ offense, holding them to just 38 points on 13 for 37 from the field (35.1%), 6 of 16 from deep (37.5%), and 6 of 6 from the line (100%). This was against a Houston team that boasted the third best second half offense in the NBA during the regular season, averaging 56.8 points while taking 44.5 shots from the field, 23.3 three-pointers, and 13.2 free throws.

The usual defensive strategy in the NBA is to take away what a team does best and force them to do what they don’t do best. In the second half, Frank Vogel’s strategy was to take away everything the Rockets are built to do. They limited Houston to just 16 3-point attempts versus their average of 23. They allowed them to make just 1 of 11 on layups and blocked 5 of them. And they defended without fouling allowing the Rockets only 6 free throws.

It will be fun to see what changes D’Antoni will make to counter the moves Frank Vogel’s made to shut down Houston’s offense in what is a must win game. These are the chess games where great coaching comes into play. So far Mike D’Antoni won the first game and Frank Vogel has come back to win the last two games. Morey’s and D’Antoni’s future with the Rockets may be on the line tonight so look for new winkles tonight against the Lakers.

If the Lakers win, this series is all but over. If the Rockets win, then all bets are off and we’re likely to see a Game 7. I still have the Lakers in 5 but we’re going to need big games from Playoff LeBron and Playoff Rondo to do it.

There’s a reason why Los Angeles Lakers’ fans and pundits continue to call for Frank Vogel to change his starting lineup against the Houston Rockets. Without fans and home court, the Bubble Playoffs are all about matchups.

It might be a different story if the Lakers had a dominant offensive center like Shaquille O’Neal who could even the slate and make the Rockets pay for going small but that’s not JaVale McGee’s or Dwight Howard’s strength. Regardless of what Vogel contends, JaVale and Dwight are not the right matchups against a Rockets’ team that spreads the floor, plays five-out basketball, and transforms them into liabilities on offense and defense.

What’s frustrating for Lakers fans and pundits is Vogel’s continued refusal to bench JaVale McGee against the small ball Rockets despite the fact he has not played well either in the regular season seeding games or the playoffs. In the seeding games, he averaged 4.6 ppg and 5.1 rpg in 15.3 minutes with a -8.1 plus/minus and -23.8 net rating. Against Houston, he’s averaged 2.0 ppg and 2.5 rpg in 10.3 minutes with -1.5 plus/minus and -5.0 net rating.

Despite the critics, the poor performances, and the devastating stats, Vogel still claims McGee and Howard will be major factors against the Rockets. Here are four changes he could make to improve the Lakers’ starting lineup:

1. Kyle Kuzma replaces JaVale McGee.

Davis at the five and Karma at the four has been the Lakers’ favored closing lineup to finish games for most of the season so it makes sense to use this lineup to make sure the Lakers start each game and half with their best five. Replacing McGee with Kuzma would enable the Lakers to match up on defense with the Rockets’ five-out offense and conversely let them spread the floor and create spacing on offense for LeBron and AD to attack the rim.

2. Markieff Morris replaces JaVale McGee.

The beauty of starting Morris for McGee is the Lakers not only add a 3-point shooter and perimeter defender but Markieff can also play center, which allows Anthony Davis to remain at his preferred power forward position. Morris may not be the elite defensive rim protector McGee is but he brings an offensive versatility and defensive toughness to the center position that gives the Lakers a better matchup against the small ball crazy Rockets.

3. Rajon Rondo replaces JaVale McGee.

The most remarkable stat of Playoff Rondo’s last two games is that he did most of his damage alongside rather than without LeBron James. In fact, the Lakers’ top three 5-player lineups had Rajon and LeBron together. There’s a strong case based on those stats for Frank Vogel to consider starting Rondo next to James to optimize that relationship. Playoff Rondo starting could be the key to the Lakers winning the championship.

4. Alex Caruso replaces JaVale McGee.

The often overlooked and underappreciated combo guard Alex Caruso deserves to be in the discussion as his numbers confirm he is the Lakers’ best perimeter defender and has the team’s best defensive and net ratings. Starting Caruso would give the Lakers another fast and quick defender who does a great job staying in front of his man and has the ability to shoot fthe three, attack the rim, and make plays for teammates on offense.

Since Lakers’ head coach Frank Vogel did not start JaVale McGee in the second half of Game 3, the big question is will he do the same for the start of Game 4, when he went small and started Markieff Morris instead? Frankly, that might be the most comfortable adjustment for Vogel to make since Morris plays excellent defense, allows the Lakers to dominate the boards, and can create spacing by stretching the floor for LeBron and AD.

Since Rajon Rondo is likely still on a some form of minutes restriction and Kyle Kuzma and Alex Caruso have well defined roles off the bench, my bet’s on Frank Vogel starting Markieff Morris in Game 4 like he did in Game 3.

I really like these lineups. Talk about a deep and talented offensive and defensive team. WOW!

This is right starting mix based on resume and salaries. Hard to argue with it. Surrounding two superstars LeBron and AD with 3 players who shot over 38% from deep is the first true modern starrting linep the Lakers have ever had.Two superstars and three great role player.

Five shooters, Three elite playmakers. Our best passing center ever? LeBron James. Anthony Davis. The 5-man combination of space creators, playmakers, and defenders is scary good.

I always hated it when the coach deliberately replaced a players who should start with one that shouldn’t just to get firepower to the bench.

Or to maintain a two big starting linep. And Gasol is a major upgrade at center in many ways, BBIQ, playmaking, shooting. The JaVa;le McGee starting center experiment that became unplayable.

You should start the four players who score double-diget points and get paid double-diget salaries. Almost stupid not to.

Especially when you look at the firepower and defense AC, Wes, Lyle, and Keef bring to help Trezz defend. And surrounding Trez with four shooters to creat space to attack.

There’s no Lakers’ player more controversial or polarizing to the team’s fans and pundits than 34-year old point guard Rajon Rondo and no basketball urban myth more chimerical and illusive than the legend of Playoff Rondo.

Yet that’s exactly what we just witnessed as Playoff Rondo posted 10 points, 9 assists, 5 steals, and 3 rebounds with just 1 turnover to help the Lakers beat the Rockets 117–109 in just his second game in the Bubble Playoffs. Considering Rajon had missed the Lakers’ eight regular season seeding games and five first round playoff games due to thumb and back injuries, watching him come out and rock Playoff Rondo was totally unexpected.

On the other hand, maybe we should have had faith in legend of Playoff Rondo. After all, the last time he had a chance to play in the NBA playoffs was in 2018 when he led the underdog Pelicans to a sweep of the Blazers. Rondo averaged 11.3 points, 13.3 assists, and 7.5 rebounds in 35.4 minutes while shooting 48.7% from the field, 42.9% from deep, and 80.0% from the line and posting an impressive plus/minus of 10.5 and net rating of 13.7.

Playoff Rondo’s performance against the Blazers in 2018 was not just an isolated performance as Rajon’s career playoff stats have always outpaced his regular season stars, confirming he plays best in the heat of the playoffs.
Rondo’s career regular season averages are 10.2 points, 8.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals in 31.0 minutes while his career playoff stats are 13.9 points, 9.3 assists, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.9 steals in 37.4 minutes.

But the legend of Playoff Rondo is more than a statistical aberration. It has to do with the swag and confidence he inspires when he’s on the court and the way he efficiently runs the offense and smoothly distributes the ball. While hypercritical fans and pundits may bemoan his stats and analytics, Rajon has earned the full trust and complete confidence of Lakers’ head coach Frank Vogel and superstar duo LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The Lakers won last night’s pivotal game against the Rocket largely because Playoff Rondo showed up. His +28 plus/minus and +46.7 net rating not only led the Lakers but he was part of the team’s four best 5-player lineups. While the Rockets are likely to continue disrespecting his gravity behind the 3-point line, there’s little question Playoff Rondo is a huge difference maker on the floor with LeBron James or when the King is resting on the bench.

JaVale McGee’s unfortunate injury and the way the Lakers played when going small with Rondo in the lineup may have opened the door to Vogel finally making a change in the Lakers’ starting lineup for Tuesday’s game. Frank has been reluctant to change his starting lineup but JaVale’s injury and Rajon’s play may have given him the opportunity to make a change that could empower the Laker by starting Playoff Rondo at point guard.

One thing Vogel cannot discount is how Rondo takes pressure off of LeBron James to be both a primary scorer and playmaker for the Lakers. Rondo running the offense unleashes LeBron to be in full-time attack mode.

And that’s exactly what the Lakers need to get past the Houston Rockets.