With Ariza out, Lakers are poised to lean on their size
The Lakers opted for size this offseason, signing both Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan as traditional centers. With the injury to Trevor Ariza announced Wednesday night, it looks like they’ll be using them.
Ariza, 36, will be sidelined at least eight weeks after his ankle surgery, leaving the Lakers limited options at power forward: Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. Former Nevada big man Cameron Oliver is also on the roster for training camp, but he is expected to play in the G League.
The Lakers have signaled that they are prepared to shift back to the two-big lineups that they used largely during the 2019-20 regular season when they finished atop the Western Conference standings. While the team has also hinted that Davis will play more center than he did last season, losing Ariza, one of the team’s natural power forwards in smaller lineups, hinders their ability to deploy more small-ball units.
“I don’t think you really put together your plan on how much A.D.’s gonna play the four or five until your team is whole,” coach Frank Vogel said following Wednesday’s preseason loss to the Suns in Phoenix, before the team formally announced Ariza’s surgery. “And once you figure
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that out, then you make those decisions.”
But it will now be some time before the Lakers’ roster is whole: Ariza’s arthroscopic ankle debridement procedure means the Westchester High and UCLA product won’t be reevaluated until at least December. Ariza hasn’t played more than 53 regular-season games since the 201819 campaign, and spent much of last year training on his own before Memphis traded him to Miami for an underwhelming stint with the Heat.
Vogel said Wednesday he anticipated resting Jordan and playing Howard in tonight’s preseason game at Golden State. It’s not yet clear if All-Stars LeBron James and Russell Westbrook will make their preseason debuts.
Howard played in the opener against the Brooklyn Nets, contributing 11 points and six rebounds before fouling out. Jordan has played 37 minutes in two games so far, with 13 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Davis has played both power forward and center during his early preseason minutes, looking more nimble in this season’s build-up than preseason a year ago, when he acknowledged he was burnt out from the bubble with no real offseason to speak of.
Vogel said he hoped to see more movement in the Lakers’ offense given the spacing with Davis at center, but he acknowledged that playing two bigs gives the team more of a rebounding edge (they were beaten on the boards by 12 in Phoenix). He trusts Davis to even bring the ball up occasionally when the Lakers don’t have James or Westbrook in the game.
Still, Davis could play center in lineups next to James or Anthony, who had some solid offensive moments in his Laker debut on Wednesday. Vogel said he expected Anthony to get more clean looks once the team can improve its spacing to allow him to work in the post.
Mandate unlikely to affect Lakers
While Los Angeles has joined New York and San Francisco in passing more restrictive COVID-19 vaccine mandates for venues including indoor gyms, the Lakers — who expect to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 19 — should not be seriously affected at their El Segundo practice facility or at Staples Center.
The home arena of the Lakers, Clippers and the NHL’s Kings released a statement on Thursday indicating that the city ordinance does not affect them: Staples Center will continue to admit anyone who has either proof of vaccination or a recent negative test.