Lakers: Tarik Black, The Paint Player (video)

Tarik Black is a great acquisition for the Lakers.  Unfortunately, not many people know him.  The Kansas player got a lot of experience as a back up center to hyped-up freshman Joel Embiid, and he proved to be an effective player.

Much is being said about Tarik’s size.  However, according to Draftexpress.com, his official listing is 6’7.5″ w/o shoes, but has a 7’2.75″ wingspan. (Full details about his scouting report are provided in the link.) While that may be considered the height and length of the upper echelon of NBA level small forwards, Black makes up for it with a standing reach of 8’11”.

That is true length.

The best part of his game is, he provides true presence to the paint.  Want to know why Houston was able to get wins with Dwight Howard out?  Sure, it starts with James Harden playing at both ends of the floor at an MVP caliber, but Tarik was able to sufficiently provide presence in the paint.

His game is simple. He’s strong. He boxes out. He rotates on defense. His game is within 5′ of the hoop. He doesn’t try to play outside of the context of his natural talent. He hustles. He knows exactly what to provide for the team in the absence of a starting center. This makes him an excellent role player.

Sadly, Xavier Henry had to be waived just to acquire him.

It has been a tough year for Henry, and hopefully he’s able to fully recover from a series of injuries.

That being said, Tarik is exactly the kind of player Byron Scott loves to have. He’s reliable and provides a great effort on a game-to-game basis. Teammates will love him for that. Coaches will respect his hard work. The fans will appreciate his activity in the paint.

The acquisition of Tarik Black shows that the Lakers are active through free agency and trade.  Everything is on their radar. While this isn’t a blockbuster trade, it is a small move in the right direction. A team can never have enough solid bigmen that play in the paint.

Now the Lakers have added much needed depth up-front.