Revamping The Lakers Offense
But, the real question is, can this success be emulated in Lakerland?
While an immediate transformation into a playoff contender is rather unlikely, this innovative system will improve upon the Purple and Gold’s embarrassing offensive output from last season and that’s a start. The Lakers will have a clean slate and hope to make significant strides with Russell, Randle, and Clarkson paired alongside one of the two standouts in this year’s draft: Brandon Ingram and Ben Simmons.
Last season, the Lakers were no strangers to the pick-and-roll, relying on it a league-high 22 percent of the time but failing to get results. Despite a heavy dose of high screens, the 2015-16 squad was in the lowest percentile of roll man production, meaning that these plays simply didn’t develop past the initial action. In many cases, this comes down to execution and offensive spacing and, as demonstrated below, this team often lacked both (video per Darius Soriano).
Notice how the play takes too long develop, with action beginning 10 full seconds into the shot lock. Then take note of the spacing being so poor that, when the action concludes six seconds later, the ball is back on the perimeter and the defense has already reset. With sloppy sets like this, it’s easy to see why the Lakers offense stagnated for two full years.
Luckily, not all ball screens are created equal—not by a long shot.
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For those who don’t remember, Kerr’s offensive system was an exciting prospect for Curry, even before the Warriors’ offense began rewriting the record books. Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes highlighted the unique design of Golden State’s high-powered offense.
Hughes highlighted that Kerr’s system that Walton will be taking from coming to the Lakers draws from both the Triangle and the Spurs “motion weak” offense. In this system, the ball-movement is constant and the offense is rarely found dead-in-the-water with the ball stuck on one side.
It’s no secret that Scott’s offense was notoriously lacking in flow and off-ball movement, the primary reason why his team finished last in nearly every assist-related category.
Fortunately, Walton and the Lakers have a well-suited group of youngsters who should thrive in 36-year-old’s new offense. Randle, promising rookie Larry Nance Jr., and potential draft picks Simmons or Ingram could all be excellent options as roll men alongside Russell, creating a versatile lineup that could jumpstart their scoring.
Next: Finding the Right Pieces