You're probably going to have to have Bron play extended periods of time at the 5, which is less than ideal, but the Lakers have almost NO depth at frontcourt. I'd take a look at signing Demarcus Cousins, simply to have another big body out there.
A dynamic pg will run through the 1-3-1 and expose the backdoor..even if he cant an entry pass will to.I'm not ready to throw in the towel.
Here are the adjustments I make if I'm the coach of the Lakers:
- Starting lineup looks like this: Bryant/LeBron/Walker/Reaves/Schroder
- Second unit: Jones/Bryant/Brown/Westbrook/Nunn
- Get out in transition, because half court sets are going to look UUUUUUUUUGLY without AD. To be fair, they've been kinda ugly with him, but sheesh.
- Run a 1-3-1 zone. A 1-3-1 zone prevents teams from finding open passes for 3 point shooting, which is our largest weakness defensively. NBA almost never runs a 1-3-1 zone, though, even though this league is straight up a 3 point jacking league now. This zone shakes up the offense, preventing them from being able to swing the ball around, hunting for open 3 point shots.
- A 1-3-1 zone forces mistakes, which leads to steals, which leads to the transition game. Beverley would be an exceptional Chaser in a 1-3-1. Westbrook, LeBron, and Lonnie Walker are your main attackers in transition, and each one of them thrives in the open court. Reaves is also decent in transition.
- An overall reduction in Beverley's minutes. I'd use him in very specific situations, like when a guard is killing us and no other guard can stick with him. Leave Beverly on him to soak up fouls and rough the other guard up. I'd have Bev guard him all 94, like this is college.
- Pick and roll on every single play in the halfcourt. EVERY. SINGLE. PLAY. NONE of that Bron holding the ball until the shot clock runs out shyt, period. Someone come screen for the ball handler, roll to the wing or the basket. Pure and simple basketball that has been effective for decades.
- In addition to picks for the ball handler, I'd run a simple motion offense, where screens are being set on the weak side getting the SF or SG an open shot or the other big an easier look in the paint or mid-range.
Motion offense is something I personally excelled at in college and high school, so I know it well. The problem with the Laker's halfcourt offense is that everyone stands around. Motion offense keeps the defense moving, which tires them out and breaks down the interior more often than not. A motion offense is ideal here because it will get a TON of easy cutting baskets for players that are not as good as AD in the paint, and takes advantage of LeBron's and Westbrook's passing game. Reaves is also an excellent passer
These changes could potentially have the Lakers tread water until they get Juan, Gabriel and AD back.
I agree to an extent but if AD can't play the bulk of his minutes at center then what's the point? Obviously, he shouldn't play center exclusively but AD is a center (at least offensively) in 2022. His regression as a jump shooter and reliance on paint scoring, dump offs, P&R makes playing a traditional center next to him untenable offensively. You would need a rim-protecting stretch 5 to start alongside him (like the Bucks do with Giannis) to make AD playing the 4 feasible offensively. Obviously those dudes don't grow on trees.. I guess you could argue the season was lost when they didn't trade for Turner.
But their is..all zones have one flaw... their is always a spot open and who can exploit it depends on their offensive abilities... the 1-3-1 has flaws with the corners.. the last 1 better be AD.There is no back door in a well run 1-3-1
1-3-1 zones play the passing lanes. That guard has to run through a Chaser and a Center to do that. By the time he gets the ball in the air, it's almost a guaranteed tip or the Warrior is in perfect position with help from the Center. Since you're playing a zone, no one is guarding man to man, which means running a pick and roll offense is effectively useless. You could potentially set a screen on the Chaser before half court, but that's about it.
Main weaknesses of the 1-3-1 is a skip pass and swing pass if you don't have fast guys (which the Lakers do with guys like Westbrook).
Try to backdoor a 1-3-1, I'm leading the league in steals, guaranteed.
Only issue I'd have with this defense and these players is depth. We have two guys that have a high motor, Beverly and Westbrook. They're almost guaranteed to be in the Chaser and Warrior spots. I would have said Bron would make a great Warrior, but he's a bit slower on rotations these days, so I'd have him on either of the Wing positions. This means playing Westbrook and Beverly at the same time, which is less than ideal.
Since I'm reducing Beverly's minutes, it means I can't run the 1-3-1 as often as I'd like. So I'd have to run it in specific situations, namely 2nd quarter when we've seen what the other team is running and giving us. This would lead to a run with easy transition buckets that could build on a lead or stage a comeback.
Yea. You right..but with AD...Yeah, that's what I said, skip passes and swing passes, but even then, that forces the opponent to make dangerous plays and fukks the shot clock.
The 1-3-1 is a turnover defense, which leads to transition offense.
That is the Lakers' strength, and why we go on these runs so often. Transition is where we should lay our hats, especially since we've lost our only other guy that's any good in a halfcourt offense
