Can Lakers Survive Andre Drummond and Their Collection of Misfit Centers?
Next to the health of superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the single greatest threat to the Lakers’ chances of repeating as NBA champions is Andre Drummond and Rob Pelinka’s collection of misfit centers.
In a league where the center position has been devalued and marginalized, the Lakers’ never ending search for a starting center to allow Anthony Davis to play his preferred power forward position has turned into a train wreck. After deciding Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell weren’t any better than last year’s centers JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard, the Lakers decided to make a last minute signing of Andre Drummond from the buyout market.
Ignoring the potential turmoil the move would create with their chemistry and rotations and the near impossible challenge of integrating him before the playoffs start, the Lakers promised Drummond the starting center position. The unfortunate result of the experiment has been disastrous. Despite Andre averaging 11.5 points and 9.3 rebounds, his defensive rating and plus/minus rating are the worst on the Lakers team for the 16 games he’s played.
What’s become evident from anybody who’s watched Drummond play for the Lakers is he cannot protect the rim, anchor a defense, or be counted upon to make the right play or know where to be on defense at any given time. Offensively, Andre is not an efficient offensive player and lacks the instincts and touch to finish in traffic in the low post or to catch and convert lobs into dunks. The Lakers are better at both ends when he is not on the court.
While Vogel has remained steadfast in keeping Drummond in the starting lineup, it’s becoming clearer every game that the Lakers are a better team at both ends of the court when Marc Gasol is the starter at the center position. Gasol also plays better than Drummond against opposing teams with elite rim protectors or defenses and his shooting and playmaking ability on offense and size and anticipation on defense make him a better fit to start.
The big question is when will head coach Frank Vogel make the change to start Gasol and bring Drummond off the bench? Ideally, it’s a move the Lakers need to make right now so they can get their rotations into rhythm. The coach, the players, and the team knows this. With just five games remaining before the playoffs begin, coach Vogel is going to have make the change soon if the Lakers are to have any chance to repeat as champions.
In the meantime, the Lakers also need to start playing Anthony Davis at the five to get ready for the playoff. So far this season, Davis has played less then 10% of his minutes at the five this season versus closer to 25% last season. That changed in last year’s playoffs as Davis played the five almost 50% of the time, a number that will likely have to be matched in this year’s playoffs. That’s why the time wasted in the Drummond experiment was so costly.
The time has come from Frank Vogel to make a decisive move to narrow and stabilize the center rotation with Gasol as the starter and Davis the closer to set the stage for the Lakers to prepare to defend their championship. Drummond can still contribute coming off the bench and playing starter minutes in between Gasol starting and Davis finishing games. He’s a better matchup against other teams’ second string centers than their starters.
Come this summer, the Lakers need to prioritize finding a modern starting center who complements Davis by protecting the rim and switching and rotating on defense while stretching the floor and scoring in the low post. The Lakers’ top target should be the Pacers’ Myles Turner, who would allow Anthony Davis to play his preferred power forward position all of the time. Enough with the rent-a-centers. Double down on a modern starting center.
Meanwhile, the Lakers need to win out the rest of their schedule, with or without LeBron James and they need to do it with Marc Gasol starting and Anthony Davis closing games at the five. That’s the key to winning again.
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