After scoring a season high 48 points in a 106-73 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday, the Lakers’ bench finally showed some signs of life and hope. Led by rookie Andrew Goudelock and Troy Murphy (12 points apiece), the bench showed that they can score and be effective. A good amount of the points came in garbage time, but the reserves definitely had a positive effect on the game, and helped hold the Bobcats off so Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol could get some rest in the 4th quarter and log under 30 minutes.
Here’s how they did it, and how they should try to continue to play for the remainder of the season:
The reserves made good on 10 three-pointers out of 14 attempts (a whopping 71 percent!) and had 15 assists. Andrew Goudelock continued his prolific play off the bench, and Troy Murphy connected on all four of his three-point attempts.
Logging big minutes were Murphy with 27, Goudelock with 25, Matt Barnes with 22, and Jason Kapono with almost 20. These four won’t always get this many minutes, but they can definitely all earn valuable minutes with this team if they continue to play well.
So, what exactly went right for the Lakers’ bench?
They swung the ball around the perimeter, and jacked up three pointers with one of the Lakers’ talented big men in the middle.
Okay, so now that we saw what went right, how can the Lakers’ bench continue to be successful?
Play like the Orlando Magic.
Yes, you read that correctly. The Lakers’ bench needs to play the way the Orlando Magic has played ever since they drafted Dwight Howard.
No, the Magic haven’t won a championship with Howard, but they did make it to the NBA Finals in 2009. Dwight Howard has been the “Defensive Player of the Year” three times in a row, but Orlando has never been considered a very good defensive team. However, Orlando has been successful in the past (this season excluded) by placing four shooters around their dominant big man.
Why can this work for the Lakers?
This can work for the Lakers because we are not asking the Lakers to change their identity, nor their bread and butter. The Lakers starters should still rely on getting the ball inside to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, as well as let Kobe Bryant create shots for himself and others. This offensive scheme has seemingly picked up over the last couple of weeks as the team is adapting to head coach Mike Brown’s new system. The Lakers are not a three-point shooting team by any means, and should definitely not try to be.
However, the bench can be successful with this style of play. While averaging a league low 19.4 points per game this season, the bench has nothing to lose by playing a “live by the three, die by the three” style of game.
The starters are already logging heavy minutes because the bench has failed to produce a lot of offense this season, and the Lakers are in desperate need of offensive production. Tuesday proved that the reserves can be successful with this style of play. It won’t work for them every single night, as it never does for three-point shooting teams, but perhaps it will help more than it will hurt. There honestly isn’t much to lose.
So, exactly what should they do?
Next Page: How to Make this Work
The Lakers should play Andrew Bynum more often with the reserves, and surround him with shooters. With Bynum down low and surrounded by the likes of Andrew Goudelock, Jason Kapono, Matt Barnes, and Troy Murphy, the floor will be well spread. Bynum can still be featured in the offense, but perhaps his time with the bench can be more of a facilitating role. Most teams’ second units have no one to guard Bynum one-on-one, and will be forced to send a double team. Bynum can pass out of these double teams to the shooters around him. Troy Murphy has proven he has range, and can hit open threes. Similarly, Jason Kapono is a career 43 percent shooter who thrives on hitting three point shots. Barnes and Goudelock have also proven they can hit open three point shots, and can cut to the basket on occasion as well. Tuesday night proved that the Lakers’ bench is willing to swing the ball around the perimeter and find the open man. Bynum should still be aggressive and look to score first, but should make the defense pay should they decide to double team him, much like Howard does in Orlando.
This will benefit the team because it will enable Bynum to practice playing against double teams, and practice reading and reacting to various defenses. He will learn how to play as the sole “go-to guy” on the floor, which he has shown flashes of in the past. The added responsibility could be monumental for his growth as a true center; he has already shown his wide variety of post moves, but the next step is to consistently display his dominance inside. Additionally, it will switch up the style of play against the opposition and make it harder for them to stick with a defensive game plan. If Bynum is logging more minutes with the bench, Pau Gasol can get a few extra minutes playing at the center position with the starters. Gasol is already a great passer, and if paired with an athletic forward such as Josh McRoberts, Gasol at center can find his power forward cutting to the basket for an easy bucket much like we have seen in the past between Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.
And if one of the bench players gets hot, Mike Brown can leave said player on the floor when the starters come back. Again, say Troy Murphy gets hot, this will give the offense different looks. Instead of Gasol passing to a cutting Josh McRoberts, he will be kicking out to a sharp shooting Troy Murphy, which will also allow Gasol more room in the paint to operate. Gasol plays well with Bynum, but it is obvious he plays more of a facilitator’s role when he is playing alongside Bynum and is moved slightly out of his comfort zone, which is close the basket. He has an excellent mid range game, but why not allow him to utilize his complete arsenal if he can?
It’s the same thing if Kapono, Goudelock, or Barnes gets going. Leave one of them out there to help spread the floor so Kobe has more room to operate in the post.
The most consistent bench player as of late has been Goudelock, whose confident demeanor on the court has translated into offensive production (Kobe even nicknamed him the “Mini Mamba” because of his aggressive nature). If he can stay aggressive with his shot, he can set the tone for his bench mates and help them create an identity. Kapono is a spot up shooter who has been looking to get bigger minutes and play his style of game. With this style, he can definitely get comfortable and become more productive. Barnes plays well with the starters and the bench, but can play this style of ball better than Metta World Peace can and will possibly get more shots and get in a better rhythm than he will as the fourth option as a starter. And Murphy is a hard-nosed forward who is “money” with his outside shot. With these four guys on the floor together, or perhaps a combination of them mixed in with Devin Ebanks, they can be a dangerous outside shooting second unit. Steve Blake is still out for a couple more weeks, and should look to create more with the reserves, but has also been a solid knockdown shooter thus far this season.
This combination of players is perhaps not the best defensive unit on the floor, and will have some holes in it, but they can still stick to Mike Brown’s defensive philosophies. They all appear willing to play defense, and perhaps with an added offensive role, they will be more enthused to play defense.
One downside of this, however, is the fact that long shots lead to long rebounds which lead to easy fast break points for the opposition. The Lakers already have problems with allowing opponents offensive rebounds, so they will have to focus on this more, especially with the second unit.
But if all else fails, and the second unit is shooting horribly from outside, force Bynum go to work down low. Or perhaps let Gasol log a few minutes with the bench instead, if Bynum is having an off night.
With no true point guard currently on the team, and Kobe Bryant not on the floor, the bench has been struggling to get open shots and points. This style of play can prove beneficial for the team as a whole as it focuses on ball movement to get open shots instead of a single playmaker. The Lakers may not blow every team out by 30 like they did the Bobcats, but they should take away the positives from that game and continue to utilize those advantages.