"I'm able to call all the coverages before teams even get into it" - LeBron James reveals how Frank Vogel playing him at center gave LA Lakers an advantage against Indiana Pacers
LeBron James and the LA Lakers pulled off a spectacular overtime win against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday (November 24). Securing their 10th win of the season, the Lakers are now 10-10 and are placed ninth in the Western Conference table.
Coming off his dominant performance, LeBron James was interviewed by Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet after the game. When asked about the role he played in the closing minutes of the game on the defensive end, James had this to say:
“Well, I mean, when I’m playing defense at the center position, I’m able to basically call all the coverages before teams even get into it. And it gets my other four guys in position, so we’re not caught off guard.”
He added:
“So just trying to continue to communicate throughout the whole possession. Keep my guys aware of screens and flares and slips and whatever case that’s going on behind them. It resulted in us getting some stops and, you know, my guys did a great job of keeping body on body and rebounding.”
With Anthony Davis absent from the game due to illness, the LA Lakers needed their superstar duo of LeBron James and Russell Westbrook to step.
LeBron took up the charge in the fourth quarter and also found himself playing in the center position as the LA Lakers switched to a small-ball approach. The move helped the side massively in the closing minutes of the game.
With LeBron James ending the game with 39 points, five rebounds and six assists, the Lakers walked away with a 124-116 win in Indiana.
LeBron James playing center for the LA Lakers
There are many implications with having LeBron James playing center for the LA Lakers.
Apart from being one of the most athletic and talented players in NBA history, James has also been incredibly versatile. His overall skillset and genius level basketball IQ have often helped him find ways to contribute in one manner or another.
On the offensive end, with James playing center, the Indiana Pacers’ interior defenders were forced to mark higher up on the perimeter.
LeBron was primarily guarded by Malcolm Brogdon during the game. However, Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner found themselves out of position on multiplwe occasions to avoid an illegal defense violation.
On the defensive end, by playing down low, as opposed to on the perimeter, James used his basketball mind to call out screens and other plays and alert his team. Defense is all about communication and with LeBron calling out the player movements, the LA Lakers defense showed some sign of life.
Although the LA Lakers were only forced into this position due to the absence of Anthony Davis, the side could consider giving LeBron more minutes at the 5. While Carmelo Anthony took up the task of guarding Turner in the end, the role could easily be transitioned into the hands of a superior defender in Davis.
The likelihood of teams wanting a player to isolate on Davis off the switch is low. But the threat of LeBron James playing center could create some issues for other teams.