The Los Angeles Lakers got back to .500 on the season after defeating the Detroit Pistons, 110-106.
The game stayed neck and neck until the third quarter. The Lakers went on a 16-0 run to build a 19-point lead, the largest in the game, and used different lineup combinations to maintain it.
The Lakers this season have benefited from going small, especially when a traditional center like DeAndre Jordan isn’t playing. Anthony Davis sliding up to center allows a smaller player who can roam the perimeter to join the court and improve the spacing around Russell Westbrook, LeBron James and Davis, three players who need room to function.
After the game, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel discussed how the spacing has looked 22 games in.
“It’s definitely improving,” Vogel said. “We’re still starting with a big lineup in certain games, but, in some ways, that does give you more space on the perimeter. It’s not five-out, there’s a big on the baseline. But it creates problems when AD or Bron have the ball and Russ got to cut and there’s already a big in there.”
Vogel added how playing LeBron at center and Carmelo Anthony at power forward, which was instrumental in the win against the Indiana Pacers, will be something to implement moving forward.
“But they play small with a second unit. I feel like this is part of our evolution as a team. Learning what our identity is going to look like,” Vogel said. “We played a different second unit tonight. We played the second unit that closed the game out in Indiana with Bron and Melo at the 4, 5. I call it a centerless lineup.”
Vogel continued about the pros of deploying that lineup.
“There’s a lot more space for Russ, Bron has a lot more space to be a roller going to the basket, which was effective, and we just have more switchability on the defensive side of the ball,” Vogel said. “So I do think that’s something we’re going to grow and be a part of our team going forward.”
Westbrook is also a fan of playing small. He said he can play 1 through 5, so the Lakers can utilize him as a roller off screens, roamer near the dunker spot and in other off-ball scenarios.
As the season progresses, Los Angeles should discover more lineup combinations that work, such as this centerless unit. The Lakers have a talented roster on paper; it’s just about leveraging that talent to its fullest potential on the court.
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