The NBA playoffs are almost here, and winning and losing often comes down to stars and superstars putting their imprint on games, especially at critical junctures. But often times, non-stars can make almost as big a difference.
In the history of the Los Angeles Lakers, there have been many such men who have been integral to their championship runs. Players such as Michael Cooper, Mychal Thompson, Rick Fox, Derek Fisher and Brian Shaw have provided the type of critical support that is needed to come through.
This year, the Lakers will begin what they hope will be a long playoff run against the Denver Nuggets, a team that has an eight-game winning streak against them. While that sounds like a dominant stretch, five of those eight games were competitive and decided in the final minutes.
Having simply one more role or complementary player step up in such games can make all the difference in the world. This time around, L.A. has a player who may be able to do just that: Gabe Vincent.
Vincent was signed by the team last summer to a three-year, $33 million contract after playing a key role in the Miami Heat unexpectedly reaching the 2023 NBA Finals. Some wondered if the guard was worth that contract or even if the team should’ve signed him. Sure enough, he played in just five games until late March due to a persistent knee ailment that eventually required surgery.
Since he has returned, Vincent has taken a while to get back up to speed. But in Tuesday’s play-in tournament win over the New Orleans Pelicans, he shot 3-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range to help the Lakers to a 110-106 win.
One can expect Vincent to play gritty defense and to hustle for loose balls and offensive rebounds. When the Lakers got swept by Denver in last year’s Western Conference Finals, Jamal Murray ran amok to the tune of 32.5 points a game, and no one on their roster could put up any resistance against him.
This is where Vincent can shine. He guarded Murray during last summer’s championship series, and while he didn’t exactly stop Murray, he at least made the Nuggets star guard work and didn’t allow any real explosions.
Vincent will need to fight over the top of screens and not give Murray any daylight on Denver’s pick-and-roll and dribble handoff sequences. The Lakers typically go under screens and play drop coverage against pick-and-rolls, and it will be interesting to see if head coach Darvin Ham tweaks that strategy against Denver.
The big key for the former University of California, Santa Barbara Gaucho will be to provide something of note offensively. That doesn’t mean he has to score big points. It simply means he needs to help out on offense, be efficient and space the floor, at the very least.
If he does that, he could become a significant X-factor in this series and possibly even give the Lakers a real shot at victory.
