Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas recently shared a conversation he had with Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George in which the 33-year-old expressed his thoughts on facing the Los Angeles Lakers.
According to Arenas, George said that it’s easy to guard the Lakers when they don’t have shooters around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Paul George told me the Lakers are EASY to guard without shooters around LeBron and AD.
And I agree. pic.twitter.com/qxgApgn56D
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) January 17, 2024
“I asked Paul,” Arenas began. “I said, ‘When you play against the Lakers, how easy is it?’ And he said, ‘Oh, it’s easy. It’s easy as hell because the guy that I’m guarding don’t shoot. Right? So, now I become a defensive player because I get to roam. I get to be here, double.'”
The Lakers have experimented with a number of different lineups this season, but head coach Darvin Ham recently committed to a specific starting five for the foreseeable future: James, Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Taurean Prince.
The lineup features a respectable amount of shooting around L.A.’s two star players, with Russell (39.0 percent from 3), Reaves (34.4 percent) and Prince (39.0 percent) all having decent seasons from beyond the arc.
If the Lakers want to add more shooting to their roster before the trade deadline, they’re going to have to do so within the next few weeks. This season’s deadline is set for Feb. 8, meaning the clock is ticking on teams that want to make deals.
Overall this season, the Purple and Gold is shooting 35.7 percent from 3-point range, a mark that puts them in the bottom half of the league rankings.
Despite George’s comments, the Clippers have yet to defeat the Lakers this season, as Ham’s squad has gone 2-0 against Tyronn Lue’s group. But to their credit, the Clippers have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA lately, and they’re currently way ahead of the Lakers in the Western Conference standings with a 26-14 record.
James and Davis led Los Angeles to the promised land in the 2019-20 season, but they’re now operating with a roster that looks a lot different than it did in the NBA bubble. The squad is going to have to figure out how to maximize its potential if it wants to emerge as a threat in the West this season.
The next time the Lakers and Clippers will play is Jan. 23 at Crypto.com Arena.
