Los Angeles Lakers lineup preview, Part 4: How will the bench look?
Offensive outlook
Offensively, this group may struggle at times to put up points in the half-court setting. Clarkson is the lone player from this unit that has shown an ability to create shots for himself (Hart and Kuzma TBD), so this unit would have to cut, screen for teammates, on or off-ball, and rely on quick ball movement for open looks.
The most ideal scenario for this offense would be a high pick-and-roll with Bogut screening for Clarkson or Hart. Bogut is a skilled passer out of the screen and can make plays for teammates or finish in the paint when rolling to the rim. Having him set high screens also brings out the opposing team’s big man, freeing up the paint for drives or backdoor cuts.
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Kuzma and the off-ball guard would spot-up with Nance Jr. lurking the baseline for his mid-range jumper or cutting into the unoccupied space. Shooting is a weakness for this group, however. Hart is the only one with a 40 percent clip from deep, but that was from the college 3-point line, so we will see how well his shot translates to the NBA.
There are also real questions of how much the ball would move within this unit. Hart and Clarkson averaged under three assists a game last season in their respective leagues, not ideal for a backcourt partnership. Clarkson is most effective with the ball in his hand, with 61 percent of his made field goals being unassisted. The problem is, he isn’t efficient enough to carry an offense for long stretches.
Because of these half-court shortcomings, pushing the ball in transition would be key to putting up points. Clarkson is quick with the ball in the open court and we saw firsthand in Vegas how effective Kuzma is running the floor. Bogut has the vision to locate Kuzma leaking and passing ability to connect for easy buckets. Nance Jr. runs hard in transition to give the Lakers another play searching for easy buckets.
Another way for easy points is a rarity in the NBA these days: crash the offensive glass and utilize their size. This unit will have a size advantage on most lineups they face, so sending two of their big men to the rim shouldn’t leave them too barren in transition defense. It’s dangerous to upsize this much for long periods of game time, but there’s still a place in the NBA for extra possessions via crashing the boards.