Through six games, one of the surprises for the Los Angeles Lakers has been the limited action of center Brook Lopez.
This offseason, one of the biggest moves the Los Angeles Lakers made was the acquisition of Brook Lopez from the Brooklyn Nets. In order to get rid of Timofey Mozgov’s contract, the Lakers needed to move D’Angelo Russell in a trade.
Russell is a very talented young player and the Lakers were able to get a good package in return for him and Mozgov’s poor contract. Lopez was the big piece in the return package from the Nets, but they also received the 27th overall pick, which ended up being Kyle Kuzma.
Coming into the season, Lopez was arguably the best player on the Lakers. With the Nets, Lopez proved that he was one of the best scoring centers in the NBA, and he averaged over 20 points per game last season.
So far this season, we haven’t seen a lot of Lopez on the court for the Lakers. In the first two games of the season, Lopez played 30 minutes and 29 minutes. Since then, he has been in the upper-teens and low-20s in minutes played.
Considering Lopez is arguably the best player on the Lakers, it is shocking to see him playing such few minutes. Luke Walton has been using his bench an awful lot to start the season, and that has certainly come at the expense of Lopez.
Walton appears to be comfortable using a smaller lineup with Julius Randle at the center position rather than his natural power forward spot. Lopez has frequently seen himself on the bench closing out games, which is not something many saw coming.
Considering how the Lakers have struggled both shooting 3-pointers and in their half-court offense, it is surprising that one of their best all-around offensive players has been on the bench so much.
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Even though the smaller lineup has looked good at times, Walton must remember the talented player that Lopez is. If the Lakers want to improve, especially in the half-court, Lopez needs to be on the floor.