When the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship in 2020, they did so with a solid center rotation that consisted of JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard.
Both men provided the team with vertical spacing, transition baskets, defense, rim protection and rebounding.
They also allowed Anthony Davis to play power forward more often than not.
But the Lakers’ center rotation has been lacking since. They had to make do with Marc Gasol in 2021 and an aging and ineffective DeAndre Jordan this past season.
As a result, Anthony ended up playing 76% of his minutes at the 5 in 2022, which is way too much for him.
But this season, L.A. will have a solid center duo once again after signing Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant to man the position.
While the Bryant signing got hard-core Lakers fans somewhat excited because he’s already a proven player, Jones should also prove an indispensable piece for the team in a couple of different areas.