Lakers former in-house analyst views LeBron James pulling off a Draymond Green role under JJ Redick
New Lakers coach JJ Redick is expected to shake things up for the team tactically, including star player LeBron James' role. In his first few press conferences, Redick has often spoken about using James off the ball. He clarified it doesn't mean that the four-time MVP's usage rate will drastically go down.
Ex-Lakers employee and 'Laker Film Room' creator Pete Zayas analyzed how that could look, comparing it to the Draymond Green role on the Warriors. Zayas cited LeBron's usage under Steve Kerr for Team USA as one of the measuring sticks. He said that while discussing the offensive hierarchy for the Lakers offensively in the upcoming season on the team's beat writer, Jovan Buha's, podcast.
"I think with the starting lineup what it puts you in a position is like, wherever our biggest advantage is that night is where our hierarchy is," Zayas said.
"That might mean 12-15 shots for Rui [Hachimura]. Might mean four on another night. LeBron's our pick-and-roll guy. It might mean that LeBron is playing that Draymond Green role that he played for Kerr with the Team USA."
You may listen to Zayas' comments from the 8:38 mark.
LeBron James was executing multiple roles on Team USA, depending on the situation. He was aggressively looking to score when others couldn't get going but willing to take the backseat when that wasn't the case. He focused on other areas, like creating plays out of ball screens and playmaking, to make his teammates' jobs easier.
A classic example could be the semifinals and finals of the Paris Olympics Men's Basketball event, where James played second fiddle to Steph Curry. He scored 38 points against Serbia in the semis and 22 against France in the finals, while James tallied 14 and 16 points on fewer attempts despite good efficiency.
Pete Zayas says LeBron James still expected to take over the ship in crunch situations
Pete Zayas predicted that LeBron James might take the backseat for majority of the game, but he will still be the Lakers' go-to option in crunch time. Zayas explained that the tactics to move James off the ball don't change his standing in the hierarchy of the team's offense.
"LeBron will always be at the top of the offensive hierarchy when it all comes down it," Zayas said. "There's a certain amount of, you've got to play one way for 43 minutes of the game and then LeBron assumes more of that role in the last five." (
Zayas suggested that might change in the playoffs, where James runs the show from the point and on a game-to-game basis. He cited the Nuggets as an opponent, where Redick might turn to James more because of his pick-and-roll game with Anthony Davis, which causes issues for Nikola Jokic.
However, the Lakers will use their versatility to an advantage against a team like the Warriors, who can switch on pick-and-roll defense because of Draymond Green, reducing LeBron James' responsibility as the lead playmaker.