The Los Angeles Lakers are now 0-3 against the “small-ball” Houston Rockets after losing Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals on Friday.
Los Angeles is desperate for answers, and it might turn to a positional change for Anthony Davis ahead of Game 2 on Sunday. Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported “The Brow” could move from power forward to center:
Davis is willing to slide up from power forward in this series, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The idea behind Davis playing center would likely be to insert another perimeter-oriented player at the power forward spot.
Houston has no problem running the undersized P.J. Tucker as its man in the middle, going five-out offensively and spreading the floor for James Harden and Russell Westbrook to exploit individual matchups and attack the basket.
Perhaps moving Davis to center would allow Lakers head coach Frank Vogel to add some more speed, shooting and length to the rotation. The question would be, who would Vogel insert into the starting lineup?
Alex Caruso might be a good bet to slide into the starting five. Caruso scored 14 points to go along with four assists in just over 16 minutes of action in Game 1. The former Texas A&M product is one of L.A.'s strongest on-ball defenders, and he and LeBron James have one of the best net ratings in the league when they share the floor.
Regardless, the Lakers are searching for answers. Los Angeles has given up an average of 115 points in its last three matchups against the Rockets, hardly a sustainable mark for a team whose regular season success stemmed from team defense.
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