The Lakers added several important pieces to their roster this season but also have returning players who shouldn’t be forgotten
Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov, despite their unwieldly contracts, will help the Lakers on both ends of the floor this season. The Lakers also traded for Jose Calderon, who will provide them with a stable veteran presence off the bench. Most importantly, the Lakers also drafted Brandon Ingram, who may be the most valuable asset the Lakers possess.
However, despite the quality players the Lakers brought in this season, they still have several glaring weaknesses. One of these weaknesses is perimeter defense, particularly off the bench. Marcelo Huertas was a liability on that end last year, despite solid effort, and Lou Williams was even worse. Calderon faces similar struggles on defense, as all three players lack the length and tenacity to truly hamper NBA guards.
Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell weren’t significantly better, although their age makes it likely that they’ll improve in that regard. However, for this season, many expect the Lakers to attempt to utilize two of the three of Huertas, Williams, and Calderon as their backup guards. This, even with the defensively capable Ingram at the three, is a recipe for disaster.
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Fortunately for the Lakers, they do have a player on the roster who can improve the situation. Anthony Brown, Los Angeles’ second round pick in 2015, has proven to be a very effective perimeter defender, with the potential to become elite on that end of the floor. The flip side of this story is, of course, that Brown has not shown much on the offensive end, where he has struggled to knock down jumpers. This has been a surprising development, as Brown was an excellent shooter in college.
In order to become a key piece of LA’s core going forward, Anthony Brown will need to improve on the offensive end. If he can simply recapture his ability to be an efficient option in spot-up situations, Brown can become a coveted player in today’s NBA. That being said, his offensive production should not determine his role this year.
Even if Anthony Brown continues to struggle on offense, the Lakers will still need to put him on the floor with regularity this season. In the seasons to come, the team will have the luxury of picking and choosing players they feel will have a positive impact on both ends of the floor, but at this point they simply don’t have the depth of talent to do so. The team is in desperate need of defensive difference makers on the perimeter, and Anthony Brown has proven to be exactly that.
Because of this, the Lakers optimal backcourt off the bench will most likely consist of Marcelo Huertas at the point guard position, with Brown at the shooting guard. While Lou Williams and Jose Calderon are options as well, neither of them possess the playmaking skills of Huertas nor the length to play the shooting guard without becoming a major liability on defense.
While the rest of Anthony Brown’s career will be dictated by whether or not he can progress on the offensive end, his defensive prowess should be enough to earn him playing time this season.
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As the only player on the team who can truly slow down the other team’s best backcourt player, Brown’s defense may be the deciding factor in multiple games for the purple and gold.