Los Angeles Lakers: Evaluating the role players through the first week
By Jon Soden
The standouts:
Danny Green:
The Los Angeles Lakers knew that Danny Green would be a major asset to the team and that he was the perfect type of role player for them. However, no one thought that he would break a scoring record on opening night.
That’s right, Green passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by scoring the most points ever (28) in a debut game for the Lakers.
Sharing a court with LeBron and AD, Green led the team in scoring against the rival Los Angeles Clippers. In the opening loss, Danny Green was the best thing to take away for Laker fans.
Green has also been a force on the defensive end, doing exactly what he was signed for. Green seems to love playing his role and seeks to play it to perfection.
Green is everything the Lakers wanted him to be and more.
Avery Bradley:
Avery Bradley has been really solid in the first week. There were a lot of questions about Bradley entering the season, as many thought he could be the Lakers x-factor, while others believed he would continue his downward trend in his stint with the Clippers.
Bradley may not be who he once was on the Boston Celtics, but he has also shown that his time with the Clippers was an outlier. He has started every game thus far and has played very effectively alongside LeBron and Davis.
In these starts, he has not had a spectacular game but has played his role very well. Obviously, this starts on the defensive end. Bradley has been a hound to the opposing team’s guards and is a big reason that the Lakers’ defense has looked solid.
Additionally, Bradley has played well offensively. His three-point shot has looked nice, and he has shot within the flow of the offense. Also, he has gotten some easy baskets cutting from the weak side as well as by back cutting.
With Rajon Rondo returning, it will be interesting to see how Bradley’s role changes.
Troy Daniels:
Troy Daniels did not receive much attention during the offseason, but he may turn out to be one of the best value pickups of the summer for the Lakers.
Daniels is a pure shooter. LeBron even gave him the nickname “Layup,” because his three-point shot is as easy as laying it up at the rim. Lakers fans have also nicknamed him, calling him “Trey” Daniels instead of Troy.
Daniels showed how he can impact a game from deep against the Utah Jazz on Friday. He hit four threes (out of eight attempted), providing an offensive spark for the Lakers.
Daniels, even when not shooting as well, gives the Lakers an advantage. The gravity he draws from the defense creates tons of open space in the lane, making life easier for LeBron and AD.
With KCP’s struggles, if Daniels can consistently be a threat from deep, he will get major minutes this season.
Dwight Howard:
Dwight Howard has been everything the Lakers have asked him to be. One of the biggest questions when Howard was signed was if he would accept his role and if he would play hard and with a good attitude.
He has done just that. Howard has played within his role and has not tried to do anything special. He has protected the rim, fought for rebounds, and made himself available for easy dump passes and lobs.
The best part about Howard’s performance has been his effort. Howard has been playing as hard as anyone on the court. He battles for every single rebound on each end and has secured the Lakers many second chance possessions. Furthermore, he has run the court hard, which has led to some easy buckets in transition.
Howard also had a monster game against the Hornets on Sunday, putting up a double-double and dominating defensively with four blocks, Against all odds, Howard is becoming a fan favorite in LA.