Normally, the Los Angeles Lakers have an organized gameplan and strategy heading into the season opener. This time last year, before we knew Mike Brown would be fired as head coach after just five games, the rotation was stable and the team knew exactly what to expect with the star-studded lineup they put together. This preseason, everything has been out of whack and completely the opposite of what Lakers fans are used to. Their star player won’t be ready for Tuesday’s opener, starting point guard Steve Nash has teammates concerned about his health and now coach Mike D’Antoni isn’t sure who he wants to start alongside Pau Gasol.
Shawne Williams is new to the team, but familiar with Mike D’Antoni’s goals and system. (NBA.com photo)
The frontcourt depth for Los Angeles does include talent, but just not the most popular names that people give tons of hype. One of the newcomers this season was small forward Shawne Williams, the 6’9″ athlete most recently with the New York Knicks and New Jersey (Brooklyn) Nets. Williams’ five-year career has featured just 23 starts and career averages of 5.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists while shooting just 40.7 percent from the floor. While this isn’t a career stat line that proves one’s worthiness of a NBA starter, he does fit the profile for D’Antoni’s offensive strategy; having big men on the floor that can step out and make jump shots. After all, Williams did shoot 40.1 percent from 3-point range in the 2011-12 season with the Knicks, along with 83.7 percent from the free throw line. From a small forward, you rarely see those numbers, regardless of the fact they came in just 20.7 minutes per game that season.
This must be one of the reasons D’Antoni is leaning toward starting Shawne Williams at the power forward position for Tuesday’s opener against the Los Angeles Clippers.
According to ESPN Los Angeles’ Dave McMenamin, D’Antoni sees the starting lineup of Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Nick Young, Shawne Williams and Pau Gasol as “definitely a possibility” for Tuesday’s game.
That starting five finished the preseason schedule together on Friday night by starting against the Utah Jazz.
Before people begin bashing the coaching technique and questioning D’Antoni’s motives, let’s be clear as to why he stated that.
Chris Kaman, who was believed to be the starting center by a long shot, has had his share of problems this preseason. Headlining the trip to China was arguably Kaman’s finger injury he suffered while tobogganing at the Great Wall of China. As laughable as it sounds, Kaman said he couldn’t feel the end of his finger for an hour. He did play in the NBA Global Games, however.
After his stomach issues pass, Chris Kaman will quiet all critics and become the best option to play with Pau Gasol. (NBA.com photo)
Next on the list is Kaman’s most recent preseason setback. D’Antoni told the media this week that Kaman was experiencing a stomach ailment. This issue has certainly been ongoing for a few days, considering Kaman has yet to practice with the team since they returned from China. He was ruled inactive for Friday’s preseason finale vs. Utah, giving Williams the chance to step in and get prepared.
Even if Kaman fully recovers from his gastroenteritis by Tuesday, all signs point toward D’Antoni having confidence in Williams’ play. After the Lakers’ win against Utah this past Tuesday, he made some pretty interesting comments about how he sees Williams fitting in his offense:
"“I had Shawne for a year (in New York), I know, he’ll fight every day and he’s going to be tough and he’s going to make 3s,” D’Antoni said concerning Williams’ role this year. “I like Shawne, and he’ll play.”"
His comments gave every indication that we can expect Williams to play a similar role to Earl Clark on last year’s Lakers roster. In regards to how Williams is going to be effective in helping Steve Nash and the guards, D’Antoni added the following:
"“The guy can play. People just focus on what one guy does, it’s the whole team. Does he help Steve Nash be able to hit the pick and roll because he’s standing over there in the corner and you can’t leave him because he’s going to make it?”"
We can clearly see the coach’s point here. One guy can be effective as an individual, but the greatest impact comes from how you affect the rest of your teammates. Having Williams to spread the floor (if he can consistently knock down open looks) will help Nash, Gasol and Kaman work the pick-and-roll with more options. It was apparent last year that Earl Clark stepped up in big moments from beyond the arc, why can’t Williams be the same kind of asset?
The only issue with D’Antoni’s reasoning here is that there could be too much of a responsibility on Pau Gasol to control the paint and for the Lakers to muster up enough rebounds with this starting unit. Kaman’s defensive ability is sometimes gawked at, but having two 7-footers patrolling the middle seems like a better defensive strategy. And when it comes down to it, that is really the only thing this team needs to be in top form this season. Giving up 101 points per game again this season won’t be the recipe for 49 wins, my prediction for this team.
While having Williams in the starting lineup opens up the floor and gives Gasol his freedom down low, don’t expect to see this strategy used a lot when Kaman proves his underrated value.