Nick Wright Makes Bold Prediction Regarding Lakers Postseason Offense

The rise of Reaves, Wright posits, is a permanent one.

“I don’t necessarily think LeBron’s scoring is going to go down, I think his assists, potentially, are going to go way down," Wright said. "What we are seeing is Austin is more than capable of segments in time, running the offense – being the primary ball handler.”

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Wright praised James' versatility. James can thrive as a scorer, passer, and rebounder, but also can (when motivated) still defend both forward positions and even play some spot center minutes at either end of pick-and-roll actions. His abilities to draw contact and convert on all three levels as a scorer make him a unique tool in JJ Redick's system.

“LeBron, of the three guys, is the only guy that can wear a bunch of different hats at an A-level. Luka basically has to be Luka for him to be good, and Austin is on a hot shooting streak, but Austin is not what you would call a knock-down spot-up shooter," Wright said. “But he’s really good at drawing fouls; he’s good at getting in the lane; and he’s pretty good at distributing. I really do think this is going to lead to the best offense in the league in the playoffs.”

Reaves is a career 36.5 percent 3-point shooter on 4.6 long range looks a night, and is making 36.6 percent of his 7.2 trey tries this season.

“In LeBron’s career, it’s been amazing to be the second-best guy on a LeBron James team, and it’s been really good to be the fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, seventh-, or eighth-best guy," Wright said. "The one guy that’s always gotten squeezed is the third-best guy."

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"Whether it was Kevin Love or Chris Bosh or whomever… because the third-best guy on any given night is kind of who’s open, who’s hot, who’s the best matchup; you don’t get featured," Wright added.

Reaves may not be at the level of those future Hall of Fame big men Wright mentioned, but he does look like a future All-Star at this point. The fact that he doesn't have to sublimate his game at the same level Bosh and Love did to a prime-era James makes him perhaps a more willing third banana, Wright contended.

“Well, it might kinda work out if the third-best guy is an undrafted guy, is a guy who’s proving himself in this regard and doesn’t have the expectation of… 'I need to have a bunch of stuff run for me' and kinda has the outlook of Austin," Wright said. I feel like they’ve already escaped the disaster of the LeBron injury.”

James has sat out L.A.'s last five games with a strained groin. But other injured Lakers are returning, which has helped the club weather the absences of the 21-time All-Star forward and Rui Hachimura. With Hayes and Doncic both returning from ailments, L.A. has put a four-game losing skid behind it to win two straight.

Assuming James returns and stays healthy in the playoffs, how good far can this club go?

The big question, aside from star health, is whether or not the Lakers' center issues are survivable.

Hayes, Alex Len, still-hurt big man Maxi Kleber, and two-way players Christian Koloko and Trey Jamison II are the only traditional centers on L.A.'s roster. Hachimura and James can perform serviceably as backup centers on occasion, in certain matchups.

It seems quite possible that one of Koloko or Jamison will see his deal converted to a standard contract. Forward Cam Reddish, who rarely plays, feels like the likeliest Laker to be cut to open up a spot on the team's 15-man roster. The plodding Len has been at times so uninspiring that he, too, could get cut.

Ultimately, however, the Lakers will use some combination of Hayes and James/Hachimura for its rotation playoff center minutes. Hopefully a healthy Kleber can shake off the rust and contribute.

In a West playoff landscape that features three-time MVP Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, former Memphis Grizzlies Defensive Player of the Year power forward/center Jaren Jackson Jr., and the intimidating tandem of Oklahoma City Thunder big men Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, will L.A.'s playmaking advantages be enough to mitigate its center disadvantage in most non-Golden State Warriors series matchups?

Time will tell.

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