When Mo Bamba suffered a high ankle sprain that cost him the rest of the regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers clearly needed to sign another center to round out their front-court depth.
Despite the need, the Lakers opted to roll with their current roster in hopes that players like Wenyen Gabriel could step up and fill in behind Anthony Davis. For the most part, the team survived, though just before the end of the 2022-23 season they signed some big man insurance in the form of Tristan Thompson.
Being such a last-minute add, Thompson understands that he is coming in to help in small ways, via Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
“Whenever you’re adding a guy late season, it’s about high character and someone that can mesh a locker room,” Thompson told The Athletic. “Someone that’s not going to be a black plague or bring the morale down. It’s not about, ‘Hey, can you get the ball on the block and score 15 points?’
“No, the team dynamic is already set. Especially a team like this. They already have a foundation. It’s how can you be a valuable asset to this team to move forward?”
Thompson admitted that he was prepared to sign with the Lakers when the opportunity arose because he had been studying the team while he was a free agent:
“I was watching all their games,” Thompson said. “Studied their offensive, defensive schemes very heavily just because it was always a situation that I wanted to be a part of.”
The 32-year-old also added that he’s looking to provide value where he can and hopefully even marginally improve the team:
“Sometimes it’s hard to see what’s going on on the court,” Thompson said. “So, it’s on me on the sidelines and stuff that I notice to put in their ear. If I help them become one percent better, it helps our team be better. And that’s part of my role being here, is how can I help this team get one percent better?”
With Los Angeles’ playoff rotation basically set, there aren’t many scenarios where Thompson would actually see the floor. However, it sounds like he’s fitting in well and is doing what he can off the court to help the Lakers in their postseason run.
Darvin Ham explains how Grizzlies disrupted Anthony Davis in Game 2
Anthony Davis had a lackluster shooting performance in Game 2 as he clearly struggled with the Memphis Grizzlies’ defense. Afterward, Darvin Ham explained exactly how the Grizzlies were able to disrupt Davis.
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