Los Angeles Lakers Have A SECRET WEAPON

Los Angeles Lakers Have A SECRET WEAPON

I saw this post asking what’s an underrated offseason move that didn’t get much attention. Immediately I thought about the Lakers signing Jake Laabia for six million a year. Just a great value signing for a role player that can do a little bit of everything. His first two seasons he struggled to stay on the court due to injuries. Only 70 games during a two-year span. However, last season he played a career-high 66 games and improved drastically in terms of efficiency. As a rookie and a sophomore, he shot a disturbing 38% from the field. This past season, he raised that to 47%. On top of that, he shot 34% from three during his first two seasons. Meanwhile, last year, 42% from three on two attempts per game. He’s a player who’s solid at everything, but won’t be known to be great at anything, at least in terms of the surface level areas of basketball, such as scoring, passing, and defense. Don’t get it twisted, though. If you dive deep into his game, there are parts where he really thrives. Offensive rebounding is one of his best skills. per basketball index. Jake Loravia was graded an A for offensive rebounding talent and ranked 49th out of 569 qualified players. On top of that, they gave him an A for offensive rebound conversion skill. They tracked that based on how many times he converts offensive rebounding opportunities and he ranked 45th out of 569. He’s been ranked well in this aspect throughout his entire NBA career. Bringing this to LA should be a breath of fresh air for Lakers fans considering as a team they ranked 27th last season for offensive rebounds per game. So obviously Anthony Davis led the team for total offensive rebounds. But for Lakers players who ended the season on their team, Dorian Finny Smith actually led the team with 80 offensive rebounds on the year. Ruy Hachima right there with 79 and Jackson Hayes as well with 78. Get this. Jake Laoravia finished the season with 90 offensive rebounds. He did that in way less minutes. 1,349 minutes compared to Finny Smith’s 1,818 minutes. Despite that difference in minutes, he would have led the Lakers in offensive rebounding. I I think that puts in perspective how great he is in that area. He’s also a solid defensive rebounder. It’s always good when role players can enhance any lineup they’re in in these areas. And compared to Finny Smith, he brings more pop off the dribble in scenarios where he has to beat a closeout or just creates something out of nothing in a pinch. Perfect example, Kawhi Leonard switches onto him, loses control. Most role players in this situation roll over and cry and pass the rock. The claw is reaching for a steel. The ability to maintain control and composure is impressive in this situation, but going right into the left to right crossover to set up the screen is even more impressive. Kawhai is now behind him. He goes for one last steel attempt. Doesn’t work. And the icing on the cake. He finds a way to finish against one of the better rim protectors in all of basketball, Big Zoo. So, he’s really talented in terms of slowing down, finding angles through euro steps, side steps, into floaters when he’s driving to finish and find easier ways to get shots off in traffic. But something to keep in mind for this area is he’s only 23 years old, so he’s still figuring things out at the NBA level. I see this as an area that can grow into a major strength and set him apart from most role players in the league and on the Lakers right now. It’s kind of a work in progress in terms of efficiency. You see it’s there, but at times he doesn’t finish the job. 59% at the rim over his entire career so far. But in his 19 games with Sacramento, it seems like he found something. 70% at the rim during that short span. Was that just a hot stretch or can he find a way to be more consistent in that area? We will find out. But he does attack consistently. Doesn’t shy away from contact. In 2023, he got to the foul line at a very good rate. 3.1 free throws per game while only averaging 23 minutes per game. Pretty crazy for a role player who’s not in a big onball role. It’s definitely something to watch for moving forward. Can he maintain the efficiency he showcased in Sacramento at the rim? Because being a capable shooter and driver that he was in Sacramento for a whole entire season or most of the season, that can take him to the next level as a player in terms of impact. Also, he understands how to move within an offense. He can have major success as a cutter for the Lakers. LeBron and Luca will be finding him consistently with their passing ability. Another thing to think about is he’s listed at 6’7. Looks a bit taller to me if I’m being real, but also listed at 236 lbs. He has the weight and mass advantage over tons of players in the league. Pretty much the same measurements as Luca. He’s not afraid of the dirty work either. Don’t be surprised to see him screening for mismatches. He was graded an A on basketball index as a screening talent. Knowing that, you’re probably going to see him screening for Luca a ton to create mismatches since he will have worse defenders guarding him. The point is, you can get creative with him because he’s a quick decision maker. He knows where to be at all times. And just like driving, you see flashes of greatness in the passing area. If someone’s open, he can find them in a blink of an eye. He’s not going to be a ball stopper. He’s going to keep the rock moving and grooving. And lastly, defensively, he’s a stud. Mainly going to be doing his work against small forwards and power forwards, but certainly can switch onto other positions if needed in a pinch and hold his own. One of his best traits on this end is he just tries really hard and buys in and cares despite some questions about lateral quickness and athleticism compared to NBA talent. basketball index graded him a minus for perimeter isolation defense. On top of that, he’s useful off the ball, very active in the passing lanes. He was given the same exact grade for pickpocket rating and passing lane defense. He does tend to get caught on screens. That’s where he’s limited. However, just look at the film. This is the type of impact he has the potential to showcase on a night-to-ight basis. Look at him off the ball, chasing around Desmond Bane, making sure he doesn’t get off a three-point shot where he thrives, just being a little nap, being a pest, being annoying. Look at the pickup point right at half court as he’s crossing. He switches the screen, helps his teammate to take away the middle, stays in front on the basketball, forcing a pass and a turnover. Then in transition, he just eats up the space of the offensive creator. And then on this one, he’s striking like a cheetah in the wild. Then he takes it up the court himself and slams it home. Are you kidding me? Then he notices Jiren Jackson Jr. is not passing the rock. So he commits to the steal and gets another bucket on the other end. He was creating chaos everywhere. And in this game, he had seven deflections and five turnovers forced. The Grizzlies attempted a total of nine shots on him. And guess what? They only made two of them. So, the Lakers signed a guy for 6 million that plays defense like this in terms of caring and effort level. He’s growing as a passer, growing as a driver each and every season and has showcased to be a catch andoot threat from three. And lastly, is an above average rebounder and elite in terms of offensive rebounding. That right there sounds like a steal to me. Hopefully, he stays healthy and has a career year. Let me know your thoughts below.

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