Robin Lopez & Chris Kaman – Determining Playing Time
Just two seasons ago, the Portland Trail Blazers were trotting out J.J. Hickson as their starting center. He generally gave a good effort, yet because of his small size, could never adequately fill the true center role. After the 2012-13 season, General Manager Neil Olshey went out and brought in Robin Lopez, which was both a smart basketball move, and a move to please incumbent All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge. To say that Lopez was a success last year would be an understatement – he fit the team perfectly.
This offseason Olshey continued by signing free agent center Chris Kaman, who has heretofore been a starter his entire NBA career. As David MacKay just pointed out, Kaman has been playing well this preseason. Very well. The normal caveats all apply – preseason doesn’t count, competition is lower, rotations aren’t finalized, etc., but playing well is playing well. There is no question that Kaman has looked good.
In two short seasons, the Blazers have gone from having the center position as their weakness, to one that appears quite strong on paper. Lopez proved to be an elite rim protector and offensive rebounder as the starter last season, and Kaman feasting on second stringers is any Blazers fan dream, especially with a bench unit so starved for scoring.
With such a glut of talent, it will be interesting to see how Head Coach Terry Stotts divvies up the minutes. Essentially, there are 48 minutes per game for centers. Last season, Lopez played roughly 32 a game. Following this trend, this would leave 16 minutes a game for Kaman, three fewer than he played per game last year.
Lopez has started all 82 games in his last two seasons– both in Portland and New Orleans, but the beginning of his career was not exactly a paragon of health (he never played in more than 67 games during his first four seasons). Stotts and the Blazers certainly kept this in mind, as they played him the least of any starter last season. There was not a lot of talent behind Lopez last year, so this still may have been more than they would have desired.
If Lopez’s playing time is cut down to about 30 minutes a game, this would leave 18 for Kaman, roughly what he was at in 2013-14 with the Los Angeles Lakers. At the same time, it would reduce the wear and tear on Lopez’s body – two minutes less a game over 82 games is not to be underestimated. As the Spurs have shown the league time and time again, having starters rested and healthy for the playoffs is a valuable advantage to have.
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This is all looking at the situation in fairly black and white terms. The reality of the NBA is that all sorts of twists and turns occur during the season. The most looming example is injuries, which, unfortunately, are a fact of life in the league. If Lopez gets hurt, Kaman will get to step up and start, and if Kaman is hurt, Lopez might have to shoulder a few more minutes.
Meyers Leonard is still lurking in the background, although he is a definite distant third, and may even be experimented with at the power forward position. While it’s hard to envision a beneficial scenario, there is always the possibility that Stotts could think that playing Lopez and Kaman together for a short time is advantageous. Although unlikely, it’s just an example of how a direct split of minutes between Lopez and Kaman could get hazy.
When the games get going, it will be interesting to see how exactly the minutes get split. No matter how it shakes out, instead of being a hindrance to the team, there should be a high level of talent at the center position. More talent than necessary is never a bad thing.