JaVale McGee loves to run the floor and throw it down. Now on a fast-paced team with LeBron James, Rajon Rondo and Lonzo Ball, he is going to have plenty of opportunities to do just that.
“I just go out there and feel like I’m at a buffet in Vegas,” McGee said. “They’re willing to pass and I’m willing to go to the rim and dunk that thing.”
McGee’s appetite for slams should be satiated by the Lakers’ passing trio. Between James, Rondo and Ball, the Lakers have three elite playmakers on one roster.
Last year, James ranked second in the NBA in assists (9.1), while Rondo placed fourth (8.2) and inflated his average even more in the playoffs (12.2).
Ball needed to play six more games to qualify for the league leaderboard, but would have ranked eighth as a rookie (7.2).
Players like Brandon Ingram and Lance Stephenson are also able to create for others, which has coach Luke Walton foreseeing a roster-wide profit.
“They’re all gonna benefit from it,” Walton said. “Everyone’s gonna be able to get easier looks because we have multiple not just ‘ball handlers’ but playmakers.”
James, in particular, brings world-class passing to the Lakers.
His 8,208 career assists rank 11th in NBA history. He has become an even greater distributor in recent years, resetting his career-high in assists in back-to-back seasons.
LeBron is one of the greatest shot-creators ever, and his success stems largely to his unparalleled attention to detail. Just two days into training camp, he is already figuring out how his teammates prefer their passes.
“That’s my job,” James said. “I know how guys like the ball. I watch a lot of film and know if guys like seams, no seams. If they like low passes or high passes, if they like [to catch it at] the numbers or the forehead. And it’s my job to get it to them.”
Even with James, Rondo and Ball — a trio whose combined average of 24.5 assists was more than 25 total teams last year — the Lakers’ offense will rely on more than just great passers.
LeBron sees shades of his Miami days in the Lakers’ desire to turn defense into transition opportunities.
There are, of course, some differences.
Those Heat teams typically ran at an average or even slow pace, though they were so efficient that they still found plenty of fast-break success. Meanwhile, speed is a core part of the Lakers’ identity, so they pile up points on the break.
On a related note, the Heat were always elite defensively. While the Lakers jumped from last in defensive rating to 12th last year, they still weren’t quite on that level.
| Team | Pace | Fast-Break Points | Defensive Rating |
| ’10-11 Heat | 21st (93.2) | 13th (14.2) | 5th (100.7) |
| ’11-12 Heat | 15th (93.7) | 10th (13.7) | 4th (97.1) |
| ’12-13 Heat | 23rd (93.0) | 20th (11.9) | 7th (100.5) |
| ’13-14 Heat | 27th (93.3) | 14th (13.2) | 11th (102.9) |
| ’17-18 Lakers | 3rd (102.6) | 2nd (17.5) | 12th (105.6) |
Obviously every team is different from year to year, and the Lakers — whose five most-experienced players are all newcomers — are not an exception.
So while the Lakers may take steps forward or backward in either department, the blueprint is there for a team that wants to use an injection of defensive-minded players to amplify its transition attack.
“To be able to get stops and get out and run, you’ll be able to get down the floor before defenses are set up,” James said. “That’s what we did a lot in Miami. We started with our defensive side, and if you defend it gives you an advantage on the other end.”