Los Angeles Lakers rumors: Team’s pace expected to slow down

Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors take a look at the team’s offense, as they are expected to play at a slower pace this upcoming season.

With training camp just days away, there have been plenty of Los Angeles Lakers rumors popping up. People are already debating what the starting lineup and rotations will look like for first-year head coach, Frank Vogel.

Vogel will take over the head coaching spot from Luke Walton and assume some high expectations. When you have LeBron James on the roster, there are already built-in expectations. When you add Anthony Davis to pair with him, those become expectations go even higher.

Vogel will be facing some pressure right out of the gate. The team’s schedule is relatively easy in the early going, giving them a chance to pad their record while working through early-season struggles.

There will be a number of changes with Vogel leading the way compared to Walton. Vogel is a defensive-minded head coach that will have his teams getting after it on that end of the court. During his time with the Indiana Pacers, the defense led the way. The Lakers have more weapons offensively than his Pacers teams did, but the principles will remain the same.

Another thing to keep an eye on with Vogel now on the sidelines is how things will go offensively. That is where the biggest changes will likely come.

Only once in his five full seasons with the Pacers did they finish in the top half of the league in pace. During his two seasons with the Orlando Magic, things were picked up a bit, as they were 10th and 11th in pace. However, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, you can expect the team’s pace to drop significantly.

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In a recent mailbag, Trudell predicted that the team’s pace would slow down during the 2019-20 season. Last season the Lakers finished No. 4 in pace. As Trudell pointed out, they have some younger guys on the roster still but the team, overall, has a totally different makeup this season that last season.

Last season, and in recent years, the team struggled at times in halfcourt sets. Still looking to find an identity with their young core, the team thrived in the open court but couldn’t find the same success when things slowed down. This season, that will not be the case.

Teams are going to struggle slowing down the duo of James and Davis. Add some shooters around them, such as Danny Green, and they will be even tougher to contain in the halfcourt. The Lakers won’t have to rely on getting into the open court as much as they should find a higher success rate in the halfcourt this season given their roster.

This season’s Lakers have a diverse roster. They should be able to handle whatever opponents throw at them and will be able to have some versatility of their own. However, given Vogel’s style of play, you can be sure that they will look different this season compared to the last few under Walton.

While the fast break and open court game may not be as prevalent, it won’t be going away completely. James, Davis and Kuzma are all excellent players in transition. While they won’t need to rely on getting into the open court as much, when they do, they will still present opponents with something difficult to handle.