Los Angeles Lakers: Breaking Down The 2013-14 Shooting Guards
By Shane Young
The Los Angeles Lakers have made it a priority this offseason to improve their depth at many positions on the court. Losing Dwight Howard, they needed to make up for, or at least try to, the defensive and offensive strengths that Howard took to Houston. Drastically improving the small forward position and bringing in Chris Kaman to be the starting center, general manager Mitch Kupchak believes he may have done all he can this summer. Looking deeply at the backcourt, specifically the shooting guard position, it’s clear that the Lakers will have many options to work with this season.
Kobe Bryant – Starter
Kobe Bryant’s ability to be a star and minutes per game are among the things to look at this season. (Photo Credit/Keith Allison/Flickr.com)
Along with the mountain of reasons coach Mike D’Antoni took heat and criticism last season, he was also questioned about playing veteran guard Kobe Bryant such heavy minutes down the stretch of their schedule. Thirty-four years old at the time and in his 17th NBA season, many thought the best option for the Lakers would have been to rest Bryant a few extra minutes per night, rather than allowing him to accumulate multiple 40-plus minute games. Needless to say, the extremes that Bryant went to in April to ensure his team made the playoffs cost him a career-threatening injury; a torn Achilles that was projected to take six to nine months to fully heal.
This season, it still remains unclear if Bryant will be ready to re-enter the starting lineup for the opening night matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers. When he does return, however, Lakers’ fans shouldn’t expect him to average 38.6 minutes per game again. In terms of production, nobody can predict if we will see the same 27 points per game and barrage of 40-point outings like we did last season, but that shouldn’t be the objective. The goal for Bryant this year will be to work well with the teammates Kupchak added around him, as this is the year we need to see his leadership skills the most. If he does indeed bring the Black Mamba ferociousness back this year after recovery, only good things can happen. If losing a step in his game is inevitable, offense will have to be made up from all spots on the floor.
Jodie Meeks – Backup
In his first season with the Lakers in 2012-13, Jodie Meeks took a small step back from what he was accustomed to providing in his days with the Philadelphia 76ers. That result was slightly expected though, as he saw his minutes decrease by 3.6 per night and placing him in lineups with a prolific scorer in Bryant.
This season, Meeks will need to be a bit more consistent from the perimeter, make better decisions and shoot better from the field if the Lakers hope to have close to a relevant bench. After shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range in his three years with Philadelphia, he was less consistent throughout last season and only shot 35.7 percent. With the offense being much quicker and relatively younger in the second unit, Meeks is going to get even more looks from deep. Being a role player, he needs to succeed in his role in 2013-14.
Xavier Henry – New addition, backup
Recently a backup shooting guard for New Orleans in 2012-13, Xavier Henry joins the Lakers as their third option in the depth chart, pending any adjustments that D’Antoni decides to make. Having three years of experience and still only 22 years old, Henry has played in 133 games with career averages of 4.5 points, 0.5 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game. His numbers aren’t going to make people feel different about the bench depth, but they don’t necessarily make him a bad player. He hasn’t even been given a real opportunity to be a primary backup in the league; his highest amount of playing time being 16.9 minutes per game.
Being with the Lakers and on a roster that has a significant amount of guards, it will be hard for Henry to even crack the rotation. It’s more likely that you see point guards Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar, who have already proven themselves with the organization, get their numbers called. While he can be a quality shooter from the 0utside and provide athleticism for defense, Henry will have s0me work to do to show if can be a better backup than teammate Jodie Meeks.
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