Center: JaVale McGee
DeMarcus Cousins’ loss is JaVale McGee’s gain. While no player wants to win a position battle this way, McGee is now primed to be the Lakers starting center for the upcoming season.
While McGee had an up and down season last year for the purple and gold, he did show an ability to be a defensive presence in the paint and was looking like a potential Defensive Player of the Year candidate early on in the season. As the Lakers began to lose games, McGee began to regress until he returned to being an above-average shot-blocker.
One area JaVale has always exceeded at is in the pick and roll. There are few better men than McGee in the league you can throw the ball up towards the rim and he will go straight up and slam it down over anyone around him. This led to some highlight dunks last season.
While McGee doesn’t offer any shooting outside of the paint, he does what he does well and the onus will be on the other 4 members of the team to spread the floor for more open looks.
With this starting 5, the Lakers have an ideal balance of shooting, defense as well as championship experience.
If only the new season would hurry up. It is time to see the new-look Los Angeles Lakers in action.