LOS ANGELES — The signs that the Lakers were going to have one of their most efficient games of the 2023-24 season – and how they were going to get this done – appeared early in their 127-110 home win against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Their fourth offensive play of the game: D’Angelo Russell set a cross screen for Anthony Davis to free up Davis for a post-up on the left block, with LeBron James throwing an entry pass – which was deflected by James’ defender, Derrick Jones Jr. – from the wing to Davis in the post just as Davis’ defender (Dereck Lively II) recovered to guard him.
As Davis faced up against Lively, two things happened: As Jones left James to double-team Davis in the post, Russell was setting a pin-in screen against Taurean Prince’s defender (Luka Doncic) near the opposite wing. Russell’s defender (Kyrie Irving) appeared to call for a switch, which would have led to Irving guarding Prince and Doncic taking Russell, but Doncic didn’t pick up on the communication.
So right before Jones fully entered Davis’ airspace, Russell cut into the space toward the rim, with Davis passing to Russell and assisting him on a layup to tie the score at 4-all just 1½ minutes into the game. It was just one play – and one of Davis’ nine assists, the second most he’s had in a game this season – but also the embodiment of what the Lakers are looking for offensively in those situations.
— Khobi’s Klips (@BballKhobi) January 18, 2024
“He’s learning from me how to pass out of the post,” James said. “That’s what I’m seeing. I’m serious. He’s working on it, and it’s great. Teams going to stop doubling him soon. As long as we make shots for him, then teams will stop doubling him.
“It’s our job to make sure we’re in the right position at the right time when he gets doubled. We have a numbers game, it’s gonna be a four-on-three on the back side, so we have to put ourselves in position.”
The Lakers have leaned more on Davis as a playmaker recently to positive results.
In their last three games, in which they’ve gone 2-1 with wins over the Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder and a loss to the Utah Jazz, Davis has averaged 8.3 assists.
The Lakers have also had an offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions) of 119.7 during that span – nearly seven points per 100 possessions better than their season average (112.6).
Davis has been one of the most efficient scorers in the NBA on post-ups this season, entering Wednesday shooting 60% on post-ups – the fourth-best mark among the 25 players averaging at least two post-ups.
Teams have sent more double teams at Davis because of his success on post-ups or when facing up his defender. And he’s made them pay with these passing windows opening up.
He’s processing plays at a quicker speed, anticipating where and when to make the pass before the play fully develops or before a second defender can fully commit to him.
— Khobi’s Klips (@BballKhobi) January 18, 2024
“Doing the film study, doing the walk-throughs, and then having to be prepared for when they throw that at you, whether they’re double-teaming from the top or double-teaming from the baseline, just the different looks where guys are positioned,” Coach Darvin Ham said. “Guys are doing a great job staying disciplined with their spacing and understanding and knowing when to slash or when to get into an open window for [Davis] to be able to hit them on a kickout.”
A key to this has been improved off-ball screening – like the aforementioned play Russell scored on.
The Lakers went through stretches of stagnation off the ball on post-ups from James and Davis, but there appears to be an emphasis on better off-ball movement.
“We look for ways to create advantages,” Ham said. “And that’s the one way to do it. You do things with pace, and you put bodies on bodies, good things usually happen. And that’s something we’ve been emphasizing.”
NETS AT LAKERS
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV/Radio: ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet, 710 AM