With Dwight Howard now a member of the Houston Rockets, he's left to bemoan the absence of facial hair like James Harden's while Gasol must restore order to what became an ebbing frontcourt last season.
When both Howard and Gasol decked themselves in purple and gold, there was no concrete blueprint laid out. You wanted to believe the Lakers were retooling the front line-the entire team really-around Howard, but you couldn't.
A passive power struggle took place between the dyad and Mike . Howard didn't like the system, Gasol didn't appreciate his fluctuating role-starter to sixth man back to starter-and Magic Mike had no idea how to manage a roster with two leading towers.
Then the offseason happened.
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Howard left, apathetic social-media wars ensued and Los Angeles' frontcourt was suddenly all Gasol.
"Frontcourt" is not to be confused with "team." These Lakers are still Kobe Bryant's. Long after he retires, he'll probably still declare Los Angeles his for the leading. Perhaps then the team will inform him the torch has been passed.
Right now, even during rehabilitation, no such searing poles are being exchanged-except up front, where Howard willingly absolved himself of all responsibilities more than one month ago.
Howard checked out on the Lakers, maybe long before he ever really left. Now they'll turn their attention back toward Gasol, for the first time since before Andrew Bynum was deemed expendable.
Gasol is entering the final year of his contract and may be playing his final season as a member of the Lakers, but until the summer of 2014, their frontcourt is his. Every move they've made post-Howard has left no doubt about it.
Pau Gasol
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This conversation can't be furthered without the 7-foot Spaniard himself.
In the aftermath of Howard's departure, the Lakers plan to feature Gasol at center more, where he's absolutely thrived since Hollywood rolled out its red carpet in 2008.
Over the last five years, Gasol has posted a PER of 24.5 at center compared to 20.7 at power forward. Everything from his effective field-goal percentage to offensive rating is markedly higher at the 5 as well (shown below).
Even at his worst, Gasol still found success at center, notching a PER of 22 per 48 minutes there last season. Making him the front-court's centerpiece is then an easy decision.
Disastrous 2012-13 campaign aside, Gasol remains one of only four players in NBA history to average at least 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists and one block on 50 percent or better shooting for their career. The other three include Hall of Famers Bob and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and a future inductee in Tim Duncan.
Which really only answers the why of it all. Why would the Lakers entrust a 33-year-old Gasol with an albatross Howard couldn't/didn't want to carry? That's why.
Regarding him as the frontcourt's lifeline and putting him in a position to succeed are two separate things, though. The Lakers will lean on him heavily because he's capable of delivering. But so was Howard. Or rather, he was supposed to be.
Putting the right pieces around him and making the necessary changes-that's how the Lakers will make the most of the why.
Jordan Hill
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Jordan Hill projects as the starting power forward now that the Lakers plan to use Gasol almost exclusively at center, mostly because he's the only true 4 on the roster.
To this point, Hill accentuates Gasol's importance courtesy of his limited offensive abilities. Unlike Howard, he won't command a certain number of touches, and there will be no debate about who the primary pick-and-roll threat is.
Those 6.7 points on 5.3 field-goal attempts he averaged last year were career highs. And per Synergy Sports (subscription required), he converted just 38.7 percent of his shots within pick-and-roll sets.
Unimpressive is the word you're searching for here.
Armed with almost no offensive awareness outside of putbacks and point-blank opportunities, a battle of offensive wills isn't about to be waged in Los Angeles between Hill and Gasol. The latter is the clear alpha dog, and any and all big man-oriented sets will run through him.
Therein lies another problem: spacing, otherwise known as the Dwight Howard-Pau Gasol conundrum.
Neither Howard nor Gasol was able to find extensive success next to the other. Howard was incapable of scoring outside of three feet and (ignorantly) averse to pick-and-rolls. To Gasol's credit, he's always been an inside-out big but not a stretch forward.
Hill will have to change how he scores his points.
Asked what he must do to stay on the floor next season, ESPN Los Angeles' Dave writes that responded by urging Hill to fine-tune his jump shot. Hill said:
He talked about what I need to work on for this coming summer. My jump shot -- he definitely wanted me to work on my outside jumper.
That's mostly what I' been focusing on this whole summer, not so much the post work because I know I can go down to the block and easily get an offensive rebound and .
Adjusting to his new role within the offense isn't going to be easy. Hill has attempted just nine threes through the first four years of his career and missed all of them.
In fact, per .com, Hill is averaging roughly 3.1 shots inside of nine feet a night for his career, equating to 66 percent of all his field-goal attempts (4.7).
Below is breakdown of how his shots have been spread out since he entered the league:
Frequency matters most since his sample size outside of nine feet is routinely so small that no real conclusions can be drawn from his conversion rate.
For what it's worth, however, a breakdown of his shooting percentages inside and outside of said distance can be found below.
That he's demanding Hill brush up on his outside shooting at all, however, is what's noteworthy. It shows the Lakers plan to use Gasol as the interior buffer. He won't be asked to tailor his game in an effort to meet the needs of his low-post partner; it will be the other way around.
By expecting (pleading with?) Hill to increase his offensive range, the Lakers are attempting to give Gasol the wiggle room he didn't have next to Howard. They're preparing to make him the focal point he wasn't last season.
Chris Kaman
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Figure on Chris Kaman acting as a backup center and power forward.
There really isn't anyone else, so Kaman won't be able to man either position exclusively. And once again, that's kind of the point.
Kaman came so cheaply that it would have been foolish for the Lakers to pass on him anyway, but it just so happens he's a Pau Gasol-esque scorer. He has spent his entire career playing center. He's got an All-Star selection under his belt (2010) and the range necessary to play power forward on occasion.
Coming off the bench allows him to see as much time as possible at the 5 while Gasol is taking breathers. When on the floor together, they'll likely serve as an interchangeable power forward and center tandem depending on the possession.
Unlike Hill, he's generated offense away from the rim. The table below gives a glimpse into his shot distribution since 2006, courtesy of H.com.
We can't sit here and pretend that Kaman is some sort of sharp-shooting god; he's not. Through 10 seasons in the NBA, he's made as many three-pointers as Mr. Hill-zero.
Kaman does, however, have far more experience, and also success, from various ranges on the floor.
Lay your eyes on the following:
The gap between Kaman's conversion rate inside of nine feet through to 23 feet is much smaller than that of Hill's. While Hill has routinely shot a higher percentage from close range, this is to be expected given his athletic build and the number of offensive rebounds he grabs.
Three-point shooting will always be an issue for both Kaman and Hill, which is why they won't shoot many of them, if any at all (especially Kaman). But by playing Kaman and asking Hill to expand his offensive horizons, the Lakers are committing to Gasol as their frontcourt foundation.
The center position is Gasol's for the dominating.
Rounding Out the Frontcourt
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Frontcourts encompass small forwards as well, and they usually run deeper than three guys at the 4 and 5. The Lakers are both different and no different.
Robert (center) and Elias Harris (3-4 ) will help round out the power forward and center positions. Harris is valued for actually being a stretch forward. He won't need to tweak his game as much as Hill or Kaman if he receives any valuable playing time. And is just there, another big body on a team nearly devoid of size and not yet a year removed from the injury-riddled massacre last season.
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Once we move to the 3, the rotation becomes less certain.
Harris, if he plays, can spend minutes there, as can Wesley Johnson. Considered a guard-forward, he spent most of his minutes at the 3 the past two seasons.
After him, it's a basic free-for-all.
Kobe and Nick Young will each see ample time at small forward. At any given point, Kaman, Hill and could be on the bench, and Johnson, Young or Kobe could find themselves defending/playing the 4.
Los Angeles' excess of guards and shooters in general isn't a mistake, though. The Lakers are going to shoot threes; they're going to spread the floor as much as possible. Hill has been asked to hoist treys, Kaman gives the Lakers range in the frontcourt and the team as a whole is small.
In other words, the writing is on the wall. Nary a game will go by when multiple Lakers won't be playing out of position. All the while, Gasol will be the front line's one constant, never playing outside his comfort zone and always the primary scoring option down low.
Each stage of Los Angeles' offseason was traversed with Gasol in mind-Kaman, Hill's commitment to shooting, stockpiling scorers, everything. Post-Howard, it's his show up front. For better, worse or the same.
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