Los Angeles Lakers expert and youth coach Raj breaks down Lakers film on their win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on 3.21.22, specifically the lineup they used to close the game, why it was so effective, and how the potential return of Anthony Davis would hyper charge it even further |NBA Film Study: Did The Lakers Find Their “Death Lineup” Vs Cleveland!? | Los Angeles Lakers Film Study For reference, I’m a youth basketball coach, movement and mechanics coach, sports scientist, DPT (doctor of physio), strength and conditioning coach, researcher, mindfulness clinician and owner of 3CB Performance —providing sports medicine, performance, and mindfulness services online and in-person at clinics in West LA and Valencia, CA. Feel free to hit me with questions and/or you can always find me on my website or follow on social media: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/3cbperformance Website: https://www.3cbperformance.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/3cbPerformance Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3cbperformance/ Here’s a table of contents: - 0:00 Lakers’ closing lineup vs Cle - 0:26 Defensive playmakers - 0:53 Defensive connectivity - 1:41 Rim pressure - 1:54 2ndary decision makers - 2:08 High effort, high margin - 2:40 AD’s fit - 3:02 Ciao grazie Script: Hey it’s Raj from 3CB. The Los Angeles Lakers surged past the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night in Cleveland for arguably their most impressive W of the season. In the closing 5 minutes, the team used a lineup of Russell Westbrook - Austin Reaves - LeBron James - Wenyen Gabriel - Stanley Johnson that was a +85.7 net rating to blow the game out. Lets go through the film to determine what made this lineup so effective. Firstly, the lineup puts additional defensive playmakers on the floor. Watch here how Stanley reads in the inbounds and knifes in for this steal and bucket - and this is coming out of a Cavs timeout so he blows up their entire ATO. Here Wenye n Gabriel completely negates Evan Mobley in a 1v1 and forces the turnover. Both players raise the defensive floor for the team, something the Lakers have badly needed this season. The Lakers’ team D has been filled with blown assignments and players on different pages. This lineup was the antithesis of that. Here the team blitzes Darius Garland with Russell Westbrook - who points out the rotation to LeBron on the backside, Austin tags and recovers while Bron plays free safety in a 1v2 position reading Garland’s pass, Gabriel backs off and then the back 3 all communicate to coordinate their rotation resulting in a contested 3 for a 25% shooter in Christian Okoro (he makes it but you live with that shot). Here’s another example, again on a blitz of Garland. Take note of the anticipation, recovery, and coordinated rotations with multiple efforts here - resulting in a turnover into a fast break and what should’ve been an and-1 dunk for Lebron. Offensively there’s an added layer of rim pressure with the athleticism and length of Johnson and Gabriel who can capitalize on LeBron and Russ attacking and kicking. There’s also 2ndary decision-makers on the floor in Reaves & Johnson who can create plays. Here Reaves attacks after Westbrook collapses the D and reads the rotation astutely to find a wide open Stanley Johnson who cans the 3. Last but not least, this lineup simply has multiple guys who won’t get punked - they play with effort and increase the margins. This sequence is case in point as after a LeBron miss, Gabriel uses his height & strength advantage to gain the extra possession. On the ensuing possession, LeBron’s unable to convert twice (fouled on the first shot) but Stanley knifes in for the rebound to gain a 4th possession for the team. These are winning plays that add up over the course of a game. Of course this lineup won’t maintain the massive net rating but it highlights key attributes and complementary profiles that can maximize this current Lakers roster. The potential addition of Anthony Davis and his more than stellar fit into this style of lineup may be the Lakers’ chance to salvage this season and make any sort of noise in the post-season (provided they make it).