Trade & FA 2023-24: Stein-Ingram Trade Inevitable| LAL Want Lebron Back On Any Terms

[ItsGoTime]

Maybe we’re overthinking this. Here are some simple thoughts:

1) we know they like to start games with 1-5 spread pick and roll, establishing how the defense will approach that before moving on to counters. I doubt that will EVER change, as long as Luka is the driving force of this team. Lively can do that at a passable level right away, I think.

2) we know they want to play a little more drop coverage and protect the paint/defend the rim better. It’s a stated priority. These are Lively’s strengths, and why he vaulted up draft boards. He’s probably not to his final level on this stuff, but they are his strengths.

3) the biggest issue on defense for young bigs is that they’re foul prone. Assuming that will be an issue with Lively, and that they’re planning to play him at all, would you rather those fouls come at the beginning of halves, or later, when the free throws have a chance to sway momentum?

It’s possible that Lively will ONLY get that McGee stretch in the 2nd quarter and not even play in the second half, I guess. But, I actually wouldn’t be totally shocked if he started the first and third quarters, 3-7 minutes in each, depending on how things go.

This does make sense, and maybe we’re actually competitive with the tip for a change (I have to admit I have a weird obsession with that). This is actually the DP WCF playoff run role, so it’s not unheard of for the position. I will say, playing with the starters around the league when they are at their most fresh is a pretty big baptism by fire.