Los Angeles Lakers: 5 reasons to re-sign JaVale McGee
By Robert Marvi
5. His defense and rebounding were hugely important
You may have forgotten, but during the first half of this season, the Lakers were a good defensive team. At times they were even close to an elite level in that category, as they ranked third in defensive rating in November, ninth in December and sixth in January.
When McGee was on the floor, his rim protection helped prevent easy baskets by opponents while deterring dribble penetration. No one else on the team – not Tyson Chandler, nor rookie Moritz Wagner – brought that to the team. He also averaged a career-high 2.8 DBPM (defensive box plus/minus), which was 19th in the league.
That rim protection is even more important when you consider how much LeBron James has declined defensively the last few years. Once a fixture on the All-Defensive team, it has gotten to the point where many have accused the self-proclaimed king of not even playing D at times. Of course, at age 34 and with the big-time mileage that comes with nine trips to the NBA Finals, he does have to pace himself somewhat at the defensive end.
As you know, having a center that is a threat as a shot blocker gives his teammates a greater margin of error defensively, as they can gamble more and be more aggressive on the perimeter knowing they have that big eraser in the middle in case they get schooled by the man they’re trying to guard.
I don’t care what anyone says, defense is still emphasized and played in the NBA, and it is still the key to winning, even in this era of uptempo, super efficient offenses.
McGee’s rebounding was also very helpful, as he averaged 12.2 rebounds per 36 minutes, which was a very close second on the Lakers to Tyson Chandler.
For a team that needs to uptempo the game as much as they did to win (the Lakers were fourth in pace and second in fast break points), defensive rebounding is absolutely critical to their success, as they had struggles in that area early in the season prior to signing Chandler in early November.
As former Laker coach Pat Riley used to say, no rebounds, no rings.