It was only a few days ago that the Los Angeles Lakers boasted the second-best record in the Western Conference, but that was short-lived. They have since struggled with them, losing three straight games, and injuries and a lack of depth are to blame for their recent struggles.
However, the Lakers found themselves short-handed with LeBron James out for at least 1 to 2 weeks with a groin injury, and starting center Jackson Hayes is also out with a knee injury. That has left them already with paper-thin depth in the front court and in shambles with them forced to start center Alex Len.
Len was out of the rotation when he played for the Sacramento Kings earlier this year before he was waived. Not being able to cut it on a fringe playoff team should have given the Lakers pause, but after they rescinded the Mark Williams trade, they didn't have much of a choice.
Although Hayes has played admirably as a starter, with him out, the gulf between him and Len is shocking, with NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller even taking the unusual step of trashing him during a live broadcast on March 13th, when the Lakers played against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Los Angeles Lakers big man Alex Len has proven that he isn't the answer at center
Miller criticized his inability to do anything of use on the court, including his inability to score or rebound, and Lakers fans likely agreed with the assessment. He even failed to do basic things such as set hard screens and even struggled to dunk a couple of times. If the Lakers are going to get this type of performance from him, then it begs the question of why they continue to trot him out.
Other teams, such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, have had success playing without a starting center. The Thunder didn't have a center or even a player taller than 6'6" for a four-game span earlier this season when Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein were both out, and they managed to go a respectable 2-2.
If Los Angeles is stuck between having to play Len or going super small, then they shouldn't hesitate to go small. After all, there are strengths to going small. With Len not providing them with much of anything, adding another shooter around Luka Doncic and a healthy LeBron makes them that much harder to stop. Los Angeles may struggle to get stops or rebounds, but they should still be able to win most of those non-center minutes.
With the Lakers short-handed at the moment, they now know that they can't rely on Len. As a result, they should consider going small going forward rather than being forced to play him.
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