The Lakers are Deep
By Jorker
Rydjorker1210 Special
Over the past couple
of years, the Lakers have been chastised as a team lacking a good bench. Players such as Slava Medvedenko, Mark Madsen, Samaki
Walker, Robert Horry, etc., were all solid bench players in their own right, but all either lacked talent, had glaring holes
in their game or simply were too old to make much of a difference. The Lakers’ bench never really produced an adequate
sixth man, and none have averaged double figures off the bench for the past couple of years. Brian Cook, with roughly 8 points
per game, had shown signs of that last year, but he started many games with the Lakers’ injury woes. The Lakers scrapped
their way to the playoffs last year, albeit mostly off the heels of their starting lineup—or should I say superstar,
Kobe Bryant.
Coming into this season, the Lakers were not considered much of a deep team as well. There were major questions—did
Smush have a reliable backup at point guard? Was Smush even a good point guard? Would Vladimir Radmanovic provide the
necessary production and flourish and prove to be an apt sixth man or even starter under the Triangle offense? Was Andrew
Bynum ready? To put insult over injury, the Lakers’ big men—Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm—suffered injuries
that have held them out of for the early parts of the season to this date. Kobe Bryant, the Lakers’ superstar, was not
at full strength either.
However, thanks to the Lakers’ drafting of a special rookie, the intensity of a comeback player from last year
and the stepping up of several key players, the Lakers have worked their way to become one of the deepest teams in the league—ironically.
With these injuries, Jordan Farmar, Andrew Bynum, Ronny Turiaf, Lamar Odom and Luke Walton have all stepped up their games
and provided the force necessary to win games. Their smarts and talent have been evident and they have meshed with each other
well. Sasha Vujacic and newcomers Maurice Evans and Vladimir Radmanovic have also shown sparks of good play, and Shammond
Williams also gives the Lakers a proven scorer (both in the NBA and in the EuroLeagues) off the bench. Brian Cook, like last
season, will provide great shooting ability and scoring off the bench as well.
Without further ado, let’s introduce the depth chart of the Lakers, when at full strength: (Note: This is completely
based on my opinion, in terms of talent level and other variables)
Starting lineup:
PG—6’4” Smush Parker
SG—6’6” Kobe Bryant
SF—6’10” Vladimir Radmanovic
PF—6’10” Lamar Odom
C—7’0” Kwame Brown
Bench:
6th man—6’8”
Luke Walton
7th man—6’5”
Maurice Evans
8th man—6’9”
Ronny Turiaf
9th man—7’0”
Andrew Bynum
10th man—6’9”
Brian Cook
11th man—6’1”
Jordan Farmar
12th man—7’0”
Chris Mihm
IR:
13th man—6’7”
Sasha Vujacic
14th man—6’1”
Shammond Williams
15th man—6’5”
Aaron McKie
Looking at this lineup (when healthy),
of course, the Lakers are roughly 14 men deep, and their depth has drastically improved from last year. See what wonders can
do when players step up their games? No trades are necessary, the players help their cause with more playing time, and the
team morale increases. Sasha Vujacic, who was horrible (especially in his shooting) last year, was arguably the seventh or
eighth man off the bench for the Lakers last season. Talentwise, now, he’s 13th man, and Phil Jackson has
not even played him much for the past couple of games as well. Brian Cook, who was our sixth man last year (because we lacked
a great scoring option off the bench), gets bumped to 10th. Chris Mihm, who was the Lakers’ starting center
for half of last year, is now considered the “3rd center on the team” in Phil Jackson’s words
and thus gets bumped from 5th man to 12th man slot. This season, the Lakers signed Shammond Williams
to be a scoring spark off the bench—but many players have already offset him to the 14th spot—the IR,
in terms of talent. Whoa. And not to mention that Lamar Odom has stepped up his game to the point where he can actually be
a very legitimate second scoring option behind Kobe Bryant.
Now analyzing the players who have stepped
up to make this a more formidable team:
Smush Parker—6’4”
PG--There are still questions about whether Smush has the mentality to succeed as the starting PG, and there even some rumors
about trading him. However, he’s certainly got the physical tools down pat—length, athleticism, speed, height.
His feel for the game is not too good, and he routinely gets passive at times and forces the issue at others. He’s still
an adequate spot-up shooter and a capable slasher with his athleticism, but his point guard and playmaking skills need definite
improvement. His defense is still atrocious—getting burned by many PGs from Luke Ridnour to Baron Davis and he makes
the Lakers’ secondary defense put more effort to cover up his woes. Jordan Farmar seems to be breathing down his neck
especially with his heady play during preseason, so hopefully that would motivate Smush Parker. He really seems borderline
starting quality at this point.
Lamar Odom—6’10”
SF/ PF—Lamar has really stepped up his game big-time and he’s shown it these first three games of the season.
Lamar can definitely score, rebound and pass at the same time, but only when he’s motivated to do so. This season, with
the loss of his infant son, he definitely seems driven. And motivated to the point where he’s making a statement, utilizing
his natural talents and gifts—from slashing effectively, making flashy passes to even developing a newfound good stroke
from three point range. He has proven to be effective as a go-to guy without Kobe and now he can really be an extremely legitimate
second-tier player to Kobe. He definitely has the talent and capabilities to
be an All-star, he just needed to put it all together. This season could be the one.
Vladimir Radmanovic—6’10”
SF—Radmanovic has shown flashes of his game throughout preseason and during the first three games of his season, and
he’s shot well from behind the arc. But what really stands out is his intangibles—he moves well without the ball
especially cutting to the basket, utilizes his nice athleticism to get open and can hustle for rebounds as well. He’s
also shown himself to be a nice passer under the Triangle especially from the high post. He hasn’t exactly blown anyone
away yet, but he’s not receiving much playing time as one would think (only 20 mpg), so that may come in time. Either
way he’s contributing and has proven himself to be an adequate bench player at this point in time.
Kwame Brown—7’0”
C—Just think of the depth we would have when Kwame Brown comes back. He has our starting center at the latter stages
of last year, and has proven more than adequate with his post defense on superstars such as KG and Tim Duncan. He can really
defend the paint. His offense, hands and decision-making are all subpar, but he brings a dimension which is sorely needed
by the Lakers. He’s currently injured, but he gives us great insurance at the big man positions.
Luke Walton—6’8”
SF—Luke Walton…breakout player? Fact of the matter is, Luke has really expanded his offensive game this season—hitting
his three pointers, posting up and scoring over smaller guys with nifty fadeaways or scoop shots, getting to the line, he’s
simply scoring in whatever. And that really opens up his passing game. In seasons past and at college, Luke was considered
an offensive liability who was too unselfish and passive—thus he never generated as many assists as he should be getting.
In preseason alone, Luke’s offensive game opened up his assist game—as defenders started to take notice of him,
that freed up more Lakers and Luke passed it to them (Luke averaged around 5 assists at preseason). He’s the ultimate
intangibles player, born to play the Triangle offense with his combination of passing ability, hoop smarts, and now, shooting
ability. He can really be a huge threat off the bench, or as starter in certain matchups. I can actually see him putting up
4+ assists per game this season.
Maurice Evans—6’5”
SG—Every player on this Laker team knows their role, and Maurice Evans certainly knows his: the consummate energy guy.
Really an all-hustle type, Evans also compliments his extreme athleticism and strength combination with a very solid offensive
and defensive game. He has the tools and the general skill set to be an important player for the Lakers off the bench. He
still suffers from the woeful inconstancies suffered ever since his Sacramento days, and can be prone to cold spells from
the perimeter (as he’s not completely adept at it), but he makes up for it with his solid defense and hustle. He’s
a better player than Devean George due to his tenacity and better smarts, and he’s even shown sparks at preseason with
his 27 point outing.
Ronny Turiaf—6’9”
PF—I love Turiaf’s game, and he’s definitely one of those key players who is basically necessary on every
team. He gives his all every game, and he even makes his impact on the sidelines where he transfers his positive vibe and
energy to other players. He brings a positive edge to this team and in Seattle alone, he helped us pull through the win with
his emotion and desire. In key close games, he might definitely be necessary in the final moments of the game. His offensive
game is much better than advertised, showing sparks of a very solid jumper with a good free throw shooting touch, as well
as the ability to bang and score down low with his post moves and hustle. On defense, he equally gives it his all, whether
by stealing loose balls and blocking shots from the weakside. He can be quite the aggressive defender at times. And most of
all, Ronny has proven capable of getting to the line—he’s attempted more free throws than field goal attempts
at this point, a necessary asset for our team and an indication of his aggressiveness. He’s definitely not your typical
second-year player.
Andrew Bynum—7’0”
C—Bynum has vastly expanded his game, especially with getting adjusted to his body and getting used to taking contact
from NBA-caliber bigs and athletes. He can now score in the low post, take contact and finish, and oh yes—dunk with
power and regularity. His free throw touch has vastly improved as well. He has developed the mean streak necessary to achieve
his potential, and his learning curve has rapidly progressed this year. He has definitely proven himself in the starting lineup
and can definitely be a capable 9th man type when everyone on this team is healthy. His mobility, long arms and
decent shotblocking ability are still there as well.
Brian Cook—6’10”
PF—Remember him from last year? He’s still the shooter on this team—he basically has never a met he didn’t
like, and he’s really good at hitting them too. Cook was our primary sixth man type player throughout most of his last
year due to his scoring ability, and he’s had his moments. However, with the two-way games of other players taking the
lead, Cook has been relegated to perhaps the 10th man spot on this team. His minutes will be drastically reduced,
but this just emphasizes how deep the Laker roster is—Cook’s got talent in the scoring department (which we need)
and will be called upon if we need that.
Jordan Farmar—6’1”
PG—Farmar played wise beyond his years and showed flashes of an interesting offensive and passing game in preseason,
and proved his toughness as well in the regular season. He matched up decently against Steve Nash and his defense seems to
be average (at least not a liability) at this point. He’s better than most of the other rookies we have drafted at this
stage and he can really be a real gem in the future. Definitely gives us a very solid PG asset off the bench behind Smush
Parker, even as a rookie. To boot, Phil played him 14 minutes against Seattle—rookie what???
Chris Mihm—7’0”
C—The Lakers’ resident starting big man of last year has been relegated to perhaps what has been 12th
man. No, his talent level hasn’t dropped—not at all—it’s just a simple reflection of how deep this
team is. Mihm still has height, decent reflexes in shotblocking, and definite the offensive game which most centers lack—but
he’s still excessively foul prone, is unspectacular on defense and has proven to be somewhat injury prone. He’s
definitely one of the best third-string centers in the league, and could arguably even be a very good backup center as well.
However, the Lakers don’t seem to be that interested in his game anymore.
Sasha Vujacic—6’7”
PG—Sasha really showed flashes of an improved offensive game in the preseason, and not only that, he was aggressively
attacking the basket and even finishing at spurts. His jumpshot has improved, but over the course of preseason it started
to stagnate to what it currently is—back to his horrendous shooting woes again. I’m not sure if Sasha really lacks
confidence—he has the ability, but he just can’t translate any of his strengths into game-situations. His passing
ability is merely decent and not what I expected it to be, but he looks to be definitely improved from last year. As a gauge,
Sasha was our 7th-8th man last year, and now he’s improved and now our “IR” man. Just
how deep our team is.
Shammond Williams—6’1”
PG—When Kupchak initially signed Williams for this team, he was supposed to be a 7th or 8th man—he
has proven himself with Denver averaging 12 points and 5 assists, and he was a very good sparkplug off the bench of Boston.
His explosive scoring in the EuroLeague was what made Kupchak sign him, though. All in all, he’s an extremely lethal
scorer who can get his shot off the dribble at will and get hot from distance. Williams had a solid preseason, but “solid’
just doesn’t seem to cut it anymore on this team. He doesn’t seem to be taking as many shots as he did in the
past, and since he’s the type who gets assists as he shoots, he’s thus not doing much of anything. However, due
to his reputation alone, he does bolster our bench and he can get hot at spurts during the season. But our team, as of now,
is so deep he’s basically 14th man.
