Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers were fourth in pace and were one of the best running teams in the NBA. That may not continue this season, but it would be a good idea for them to continue to play at a quick pace for several reasons.
Amidst an extremely disappointing season for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018-19, there was one thing they were definitely successful in doing. They were second in the NBA in fastbreak points per game at 19.3, and they did have quite a few games at times where they seemed to run the other team out of the gym.
With the addition of big men like Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard and the loss of Lonzo Ball, some have been speculating that the Lakers will play at a substantially slower pace this upcoming season. Although, new head coach Frank Vogel has indicated that he still wants this team to push the pace.
How much he’ll emphasize that in training camp and throughout the season remains to be seen though.
But when one takes an objective look at the Lakers‘ roster, it seems like the logical thing for them to do would be to continue to play fast and look for the fastbreak on a consistent basis.
They may rank somewhat lower than fourth in pace this upcoming season, but they shouldn’t go to the other extreme and rank in, say, the bottom half of the league in that category. They need to find the right balance while still consistently looking for fast breaks and early offense.
There are many reasons why some type of uptempo game will help bring out the best from the Purple and Gold while helping them seriously contend for the NBA championship, compared to only running when there’s a clear opportunity and settling the rest of the time for setting up their halfcourt offense.