Post by getbeard on Jul 29, 2014 18:33:30 GMT
The Lakers have been off to a hot start in the first half of the season, and have caught the attention of both GM's and fans around the league. Lets take a look at some of the factors that have led to the best record in the league.
Young Studs
Andrew Wiggins and Damian Lillard are bringing the fun back to basketball in LA, along with a winning attitude
HThe Lakers have seemingly found the faces of their franchise going forward. Andrew Wiggins and Damian Lillard both scorched through the first season blazing hot, leading the Lakers in scoring. The two have combined for over 43PPG to this point, establishing themselves as one of the best scoring tandems in the league. At the prime young ages of 21 and 24 respectively, the two will be in that conversation for a long period of time.
Wiggins came into the season fresh off of leading the Lakers to the playoffs in his rookie season, to go along with some nice hardware in winning the prestigious ROY award. With continued hard work in the offseason though, he has brought his game to new heights. After a seriously impressive rookie season where he averaged; 22.6PPG, 7RPG, and over 2 combined blocks and steals on a .468/.786/.391, most had tampered expectations of huge growth in year 2. I mean how much better can the kid really get than that? Wiggs took it upon himself to find what little improvements he could make, and he made them. Bumping his scoring average up to 24PPG, and somehow managing to increase his already amazing percentages to a .468/.791/.440 slash line. Not just a volume scorer, but an efficient one, is a rare find for an NBA team, and the Lakers have found a real gem in Wiggins. Best part about his game is that even with the incredible offensive display he puts forth, he is an equally hard worker on defense. If not this season, the MVP discussion may be heading into Wiggins direction.
Damian Lillard was the 2nd pick of the draft in 2012. Throughout his rookie contract, Lillard really struggled to take advantage of his offseasons, and round out his overall game. Stuck with mediocre ratings, he managed to still push out some pretty impressive stat lines. He went into FA off his rookie contract with GM's weary to offer the one-time "lock" superstar any type of big money or big year deals, after seeing his lack of improvement through his highest potential years. The Lakers even passed on the opportunity to make Dame a restricted FA, knowing they had another potential stud PG waiting in the wings in Shabazz Napier. The Lakers managed to resign Lillard, to a 5 year contract with a base salary of 9M. This seemed like a vast overpay at the time, when comparing Lillard to other young PG's throughout the league his stats were right there with him but the cost was not. Lillard heard the whispers around the locker room and front office and vowed to make it his best offseason yet. It was. Lillard exploded, working on his offensive game with Wiggs all offseason. The two have clearly developed a nice chemistry through all the offseason work. Lillard is average 19.3PPG thus far, just off his career high by .1. He is currently on pace to have career high years in Assists, Steals, and FG%. He is on pace for career-low TO numbers. A career year for Lillard, and the blossoming of a true superstar in Wiggins is no fluke. Leading the Lakers to a 27-8 record at the all-star break looks like just the beginning for this lethal combination.
The Blazing Hot Wings
Following their young leader, Jimmy Butler, JR Smith, and Gordon Hayward have put on a show from the wing spots.
The entire wing rotation has been an extremely bright spot for the Lakers team this season. While relying on Dame and Wiggs to control the ball the majority of the time on offense, these 3 guys have done nothing but consistently knock down their open shots. With defenses having to do lots of running around to stop the main threats, the 3 snipers have had a field day this season. Look no further than each of their splits for all you need to know about these guys;
Butler- .458/.806/.453 with a Wiggins like defense of 2 steals/blocks a game
Smith- .466/.765/.423 scoring over 10PPG in limited minutes off the bench
Hayward- .431/.846/.379 and the man refuses to turn the ball over.
These 3 guys a long with Shabazz Napier who also is shooting ridiculous percentages of .481/.789/.446 have more than held their own putting the rock in the hoop. One of the biggest strength of this Lakers team has been the ability to move the ball and shoot with range. All 6 guards and SFs in the rotation can not only do this well, but excel at it.
1-800-GIANT-GLASS
The Big Men group can bang bodies with anyone in the league. "Goodluck" grabbing a board in these guys paint.
The Lakers front court is filled with big bodies who like to bump. Lead by grizzled vet Andris Biedrins who is currently 2nd in the league in boards per game, these guys take pride in making the paint there's. With all the 3 point chucking coming from the arc, these guys have made it their mission to become the best rebounding team in the league. 2nd chance opportunities mean points more than often on a team that shoots percentages as high as the Lakers do, and this clean up crew is a large part of why the Lakers lead the league in PPG. This group is currently leading the team to a top 5 rebounding team in the league, just .3 per game off the current leader.
In a Nutshell:
The Lakers have one of the most deep teams in the league. One of very few teams that runs a 10 deep rotation, but they get the most from each of their guys. With a 28-7 record at the break and not one all-star, that speaks volumes about what this team has done. This team has not been built for a system, and just so happens to have possibly the brightest future star the league has to offer. Will be fun to watch this balanced and deep team make a run at the playoffs, and to see how soon Wiggins and Lillard will be ready to lead LA to the Promised Land.
Young Studs
Andrew Wiggins and Damian Lillard are bringing the fun back to basketball in LA, along with a winning attitude
HThe Lakers have seemingly found the faces of their franchise going forward. Andrew Wiggins and Damian Lillard both scorched through the first season blazing hot, leading the Lakers in scoring. The two have combined for over 43PPG to this point, establishing themselves as one of the best scoring tandems in the league. At the prime young ages of 21 and 24 respectively, the two will be in that conversation for a long period of time.
Wiggins came into the season fresh off of leading the Lakers to the playoffs in his rookie season, to go along with some nice hardware in winning the prestigious ROY award. With continued hard work in the offseason though, he has brought his game to new heights. After a seriously impressive rookie season where he averaged; 22.6PPG, 7RPG, and over 2 combined blocks and steals on a .468/.786/.391, most had tampered expectations of huge growth in year 2. I mean how much better can the kid really get than that? Wiggs took it upon himself to find what little improvements he could make, and he made them. Bumping his scoring average up to 24PPG, and somehow managing to increase his already amazing percentages to a .468/.791/.440 slash line. Not just a volume scorer, but an efficient one, is a rare find for an NBA team, and the Lakers have found a real gem in Wiggins. Best part about his game is that even with the incredible offensive display he puts forth, he is an equally hard worker on defense. If not this season, the MVP discussion may be heading into Wiggins direction.
Damian Lillard was the 2nd pick of the draft in 2012. Throughout his rookie contract, Lillard really struggled to take advantage of his offseasons, and round out his overall game. Stuck with mediocre ratings, he managed to still push out some pretty impressive stat lines. He went into FA off his rookie contract with GM's weary to offer the one-time "lock" superstar any type of big money or big year deals, after seeing his lack of improvement through his highest potential years. The Lakers even passed on the opportunity to make Dame a restricted FA, knowing they had another potential stud PG waiting in the wings in Shabazz Napier. The Lakers managed to resign Lillard, to a 5 year contract with a base salary of 9M. This seemed like a vast overpay at the time, when comparing Lillard to other young PG's throughout the league his stats were right there with him but the cost was not. Lillard heard the whispers around the locker room and front office and vowed to make it his best offseason yet. It was. Lillard exploded, working on his offensive game with Wiggs all offseason. The two have clearly developed a nice chemistry through all the offseason work. Lillard is average 19.3PPG thus far, just off his career high by .1. He is currently on pace to have career high years in Assists, Steals, and FG%. He is on pace for career-low TO numbers. A career year for Lillard, and the blossoming of a true superstar in Wiggins is no fluke. Leading the Lakers to a 27-8 record at the all-star break looks like just the beginning for this lethal combination.
The Blazing Hot Wings
Following their young leader, Jimmy Butler, JR Smith, and Gordon Hayward have put on a show from the wing spots.
The entire wing rotation has been an extremely bright spot for the Lakers team this season. While relying on Dame and Wiggs to control the ball the majority of the time on offense, these 3 guys have done nothing but consistently knock down their open shots. With defenses having to do lots of running around to stop the main threats, the 3 snipers have had a field day this season. Look no further than each of their splits for all you need to know about these guys;
Butler- .458/.806/.453 with a Wiggins like defense of 2 steals/blocks a game
Smith- .466/.765/.423 scoring over 10PPG in limited minutes off the bench
Hayward- .431/.846/.379 and the man refuses to turn the ball over.
These 3 guys a long with Shabazz Napier who also is shooting ridiculous percentages of .481/.789/.446 have more than held their own putting the rock in the hoop. One of the biggest strength of this Lakers team has been the ability to move the ball and shoot with range. All 6 guards and SFs in the rotation can not only do this well, but excel at it.
1-800-GIANT-GLASS
The Big Men group can bang bodies with anyone in the league. "Goodluck" grabbing a board in these guys paint.
The Lakers front court is filled with big bodies who like to bump. Lead by grizzled vet Andris Biedrins who is currently 2nd in the league in boards per game, these guys take pride in making the paint there's. With all the 3 point chucking coming from the arc, these guys have made it their mission to become the best rebounding team in the league. 2nd chance opportunities mean points more than often on a team that shoots percentages as high as the Lakers do, and this clean up crew is a large part of why the Lakers lead the league in PPG. This group is currently leading the team to a top 5 rebounding team in the league, just .3 per game off the current leader.
In a Nutshell:
The Lakers have one of the most deep teams in the league. One of very few teams that runs a 10 deep rotation, but they get the most from each of their guys. With a 28-7 record at the break and not one all-star, that speaks volumes about what this team has done. This team has not been built for a system, and just so happens to have possibly the brightest future star the league has to offer. Will be fun to watch this balanced and deep team make a run at the playoffs, and to see how soon Wiggins and Lillard will be ready to lead LA to the Promised Land.
