The Lakers found their death lineup for the playoffs

The Lakers look ready to go into the playoffs, focusing on centerless basketball with their own version of a death lineup.

The final home game of the regular season concluded with the Lakers defeating the Houston Rockets on Friday, securing the third seed in the West, and hitting the 50-win mark. Given the Rockets' shorthanded roster, Friday's game offered few playoff predictors.

Still, it showcased the team's recent display of explosive offensive potential and complete acceptance of centerless basketball.

Head coach J.J. Redick has relied heavily on one centerless lineup in particular. The most frequently used five-man combination in the last ten games has been Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Dorian Finney-Smith and Rui Hachimura.

In that, Redick has found his death lineup for the playoffs.

The sole center in the rotation, Jaxson Hayes, starts and is pulled within the first four minutes of each game. In comes Finney-Smith, completing the death unit. They go to it early and often, especially late in the fourth quarter.

Transitioning from Hayes' lob threat to Finney-Smith alters the floor's geometry. Every player in that unit must be defended out to the perimeter, enlarging the floor and making screen actions more complicated to send help from.

In the clip below against Houston on Friday, notice as Reaves sets the down screen for LeBron, with the Rockets' defense stretched corner to corner. There’s no backside help due to Hachimura occupying Jock Landale, the sole big on the floor. Two defenders stay with Reaves, leaving LeBron open for the jumper.

In the previous matchup against a healthy Houston squad, the Lakers closed with this same five. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka spoke on the challenges of that unit.

“It’s obviously a spacing unit that shoots a lot of threes and the spacing is totally different, obviously, without Hayes in there.” Udoka said before Friday’s matchup. “They switched a lot more on defense so there’s some advantages for them and it was kind of a battle of wills as far as the second half with us playing bigger lineups versus their smaller ones.”

That “battle of wills” against bigger lineups has led to the Lakers offense running teams off the floor. According to the NBA’s tracking data, the unit boasts a +18.6 net rating and an impressive 124.9 offensive rating throughout 13 games.

The big three of Dončić, Reaves, and LeBron have an interchangeable quality as primary ball handlers. Any of them can screen, attack in isolation, or create plays for others. Employing a five-out offense with Hachimura and Finney-Smith has made the offense unguardable.

Against Dallas with arguably the largest two big front in the league in Anthony Davis and Derek Lively, LA did not budge. They continued to employ their main five, daring the Mavericks to match up with them. In the clip below, Finney-Smith comes to set the step-up screen. A miscommunication on the defensive coverage gets Dončić downhill.

Help must come from somewhere. Davis chooses to leave Hachimura, a 44.5% 3-point shooter from the corner, wide open.

It’s a difficult proposition no matter where help comes from. The only player shooting under 40% on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers in that unit is Dončić, who you can leave open at your own risk.

This creates, as Redick puts it, “marginal indecision” for a defense. In that marginal indecision, you get instances of single coverage. Watch in the clip below as LeBron brings it up the floor in the fourth quarter against the opposite big man Daniel Gafford.

Davis should be in help here but is forced into that marginal indecision.

A quick behind-the-back dribble spin baseline gets the and-one finish.

When a team does eventually put two on the ball, that’s where the Lakers have you. It gives two of Dončić, James and Reaves a four-on-three to work with.

Watch below late in the fourth as Reaves comes to screen for Dončić, with Dallas putting two on the ball. Reaves catches it in the middle of the floor with Davis and P.J. Washington responsible for three players on the weak side.

Washington is caught ball-watching as LeBron streaks down the lane for the finish to ice the game.

Even with Dončić just arriving at the deadline, this lineup has already played the most fourth-quarter minutes for Los Angeles, bolstering a dominant +22.5 net rating in the final frame, per the NBA’s tracking data.

The defensive question marks for this lineup will continue until they are backed up with playoff success, but the offense has started to punch at their potential since the blockbuster trade went down.

The Lakers have found their death lineup, which looks ready to unleash against the West.