The Lakers Should Prioritize Bringing Back Tarik Black Next Season

Overcoming the adversity that was the 2015-16 Lakers’ season, Tarik Black did more than enough to earn himself a spot with LA moving forward

Despite Byron Scott’s insistence upon keeping him on the bench, Lakers’ center, Tarik Black, managed to make a significant impact nearly every time he stepped on the floor this season, however limited that may have been.

Instead of focusing on developing their young talent for the future, Scott insisted on playing Brandon Bass as the primary backup center until five games left in the season. Seemingly no amount of poor play from Bass, who looked lost for much of his time on the court, cost him his spot in the rotation.

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This becomes even more frustrating when you realize that the improvement over Bass that Black provides is striking. Not only is Black a significantly better rebounder than his counterpart, he also provides a much more imposing presence at the rim defensively.

Despite the fact that both of them are undersized for the center position, Black’s strength paired with his athleticism allow him to be much more effective at the position than Bass has typically been.

On the offensive side of the ball Black does a great deal to help the guards he’s playing with. Consistently active, Black uses his athleticism to move around both off the ball and in the pick and roll, allowing easy assist opportunities for his teammates. Tarik Black has demonstrated particular effectiveness in creating space for ball handlers and shooters with strong screens, something which the Lakers team lacked all season long.

The Lakers consistently responded well as a team to Black’s presence. His energy often proved to be contagious, with the team exhibiting more fire and passion when he got significant playing time. Although this is a difficult thing to measure, the Lakers were clearly a more energetic team with Black in the game.

Even in the final game of the season, which centered around Kobe’s final game, Tarik Black made a noticeable impact. Late in the game, Black came up with a ridiculous block, which led to a transition opportunity for the Lakers and ultimately keyed the run that set up Kobe’s late game heroics.

I know this night was about Kobe but damn this play was too much #MambaDay pic.twitter.com/7z69TY0D92
— Mutiple Sources (@ericdyee) April 14, 2016

Keeping Tarik Black on the team would also help to build continuity and chemistry as the team enters another off-season which will inevitably cause significant roster turnover.