A big favorite finally emerges to be the titular pivot of the Lakers!

If most of the incumbent positions have already been distributed to the Lakers, that of pivot was still pending. Dwight Howard? Anthony Davis? DeAndre Jordan? We now know the answer, Frank Vogel having revealed the lucky winner recently.

The preseason hasn’t gone well for the Lakers, to say the least. Between a cascade of injuries on the wings and a zero point in terms of victories (6 games, 6 losses), Lebron james and his teammates were not at the expected level. With just a few days of the regular season, it’s not very reassuring… Obviously, Frank Vogel still has a lot of work to do.

The good news is that the tactician finally knows who will be his starting pivot for the months to come. He thus revealed his choice to Lakers Nation recently, and that is also a little surprise: It is DeAndre Jordan who will start the matches for the Crimson and Gold this season. Long expected to be a simple rotation at post 5, the qualities of the former Clipper finally convinced Vogel:

DeAndre Jordan to be the starting linchpin for the Lakers

There is a lot of smallball with the five substitutes now, so we really got into the question: who could best match the setups of the starting squads? DeAndre was the one who fulfilled the most criteria in this game.

It’s number 1 in NBA basketball history for the dunks. He therefore has a great talent for catching lobs, finding his way to the basket and concluding, and can give us verticality. He’s a veteran who understands pick-and-roll covers and excels in the role of shot blocker, roller after screen, offensive rebounder.

At the same time, this means thatAnthony davis will still play as a strong winger in 2021-22, when a repositioning of the Mono-eyebrow had long been discussed. However, the coach decided to rely on his experience, having already brought the Californians to the ultimate coronation. This is why he relies on the title won in 2020 to explain his choices, especially when it comes to putting Dwight Howard on the bench:

We discussed the possibility that Dwight would start the encounters, but we believe that ultimately one of the strengths of our team two years ago when Dwight was there was the way he punished. opposing pivots and substitutes.

Originally announced as a simple replacement, DeAndre Jordan is now the starting pivot of the Lakers. A hell of a turnaround that he certainly won’t complain about! It remains to justify this decision on the ground, now.