Everyone knows how the
saying goes: You’re only as strong as your weakest link. In the Lakers’ case,
this is very true. Last season, the Lakers bench was notorious for being a
stagnant group that couldn’t keep the ball moving, the offense fluid and, in
general, couldn’t give the starters a decent enough break. There were some
bright spots coming off of the bench such as Jordan Hill, who provided energy,
defense, timely buckets and an insane amount of rebounds, and Matt Barnes, who
was able to create baskets with off ball movement and play well defensively.
Hill and Barnes (who
struggled towards the end of the season) were only two players in a bench
composed of seven. Last season, the Lakers bench only scored 20.5 points per
game, got 12.8 rebounds per game and a very measly 6.6 assists per game. Those
are mediocre numbers within themselves, but when combined with the fact that
they only were able to play 77 minutes per game between all seven players, then
it becomes very bad. The Lakers’ opponent’s bench, however, faired very well
against Los Angeles’ reserves: 32.9 points per game, 15.1 rebounds per game,
6.3 assists per game, all while giving their starters 88.5 minutes per game
from the seven players. That’s production.
The Lakers are hoping the
likes of Antawn Jamison and Jodie Meeks improves the bench. I, for one, think
Meeks and Jamison will take some time to get used to basketball life in Los
Angeles, however both provide exactly what the team needs. The Lakers are predominantly
a post team.
Their best scorers are most
efficient from the post, even shooting guard Kobe Bryant excels in the post.
Jamison and Meeks both provide efficiency from long range (34.1% and 36.5%
respectively), which is something the Lakers had enormous trouble with last
season. Being able to stretch out the defense is important so opposing teams
can’t double team Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard or Bryant in the post, without
potentially getting burned from long range. This season’s bench appears to be
comparable with the latest championship winning squad. It’s a bench that can
provide energy, scoring and minutes of rest for players like Bryant, Gasol and
Steve Nash, who are not getting any younger.
