Los Angeles Lakers: Why they should split up LeBron James and Russell Westbrook

The Los Angeles Lakers were reportedly on a mission to acquire a point guard during this off-season. Marc Stein stated on July 13th via Substack that the team wanted to get a starting point guard to push LeBron James and Anthony Davis to power forward and center. The team accomplished its goal when they acquired Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards before the NBA draft on July 29th.

The Lakers’ desire to have James play more power forward likely means spending more time off the ball. Anthony Davis has been the offense’s focal point over the past 2 seasons, leading the team in post-up possessions averaging 4.9 per game.

Let’s a look at why separating Russell Westbrook and LeBron James for most of the game would be in the best interest of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Davis is also at the center of their pick and roll sets as he is the primary roll man averaging 3.1 possessions per game. Therefore, the front-court player, who usually plays alongside Davis, spent a lot of time off the ball.

For instance, Marc Gasol played 15.7 minutes per game with Davis last season. Gasol’s time with Davis contributed to spending 30.6 percent of his possessions in the spot-up shooter role, averaging 1.6 per game.

Gasol wasn’t the only player relegated to spot-up duty as Kyle Kuzma was on the court with Davis for 15.3 minutes per game. Kuzma’s time with Anthony Davis played a vital role in him spending 30.2 percent of his possessions in the same role, averaging 4 per game.

LeBron James is a below-average spot-up shooter, making 40.7 percent of his attempts on 1.4 shots per game since 2015. James isn’t the only player who will spend some time off the ball, as Westbrook had dinner with Davis and James weeks before his deal to the Lakers was completed. Westbrook let them know that he was willing to play off the ball to let James be a playmaker on some possessions.

Unfortunately, Westbrook will run into a similar issue as James because point guards in the Los Angeles Lakers’ system also spend a significant portion of the game in the spot-up role. For instance, Dennis Schröder spent 19.8 percent of his possessions in the role, averaging 3.4 per game. Throughout his career, Westbrook has been an awful spot-up shooter, only making 39.9 percent of his attempts on 2.2 shots per game.

However, there is another way for James and Westbrook to be effective off the ball. The team has been in the top 12 in cutting over the past two seasons, averaging 8.5 possessions per game. Sadly, Westbrook and James haven’t cut that often over the past six seasons, spending less than 6 percent of their possessions in the role, averaging fewer than 2 cuts per game.

Consequently, the easiest way the Lakers can be successful with James and Westbrook is to stagger them. Westbrook has produced most of his offensive output in the restricted area over the past six seasons, shooting 60.2 percent from the field on 7.6 shots per game. He has averaged 9.2 points in the restricted area: 36.1 percent of his scoring output.

The staggering method wouldn’t only benefit Westbrook. It would also help LeBron James. James is most effective inside 5 feet, shooting 73 percent from the field on 2.2 shots per game. He has averaged 3.2 points close to the basket.

Fortunately, the team has managed to keep their stars separate as Davis and James have only shared the court for 23.5 minutes per game over the last two seasons. Consequently, the team should follow the same plan with James and Westbrook to allow them to be ball handlers for most of their minutes.