Throughout the regular season, Keaton Wagler hasn’t had it easy. He’s already playing minimal minutes, for reasons no one knows, and even then, the rookie often struggles to generate quality offense. Part of the reason is that head coach Tyronn Lue has him sharing the court with Isaiah Jackson.
One might wonder, what does Jackson have to do with the production of the fifth overall pick? Well, the 24-year-old big man is undersized, isn’t much of an offensive threat, and ultimately hurts LA's spacing, which limits Wagler’s ability to impact the game, especially when he’s the lead point guard. We saw it firsthand in the Clippers’ most recent loss against the Phoenix Suns.
With someone like Brook Lopez, though, who offers more size and a stronger skill set, Wagler’s performance is night and day.
Tyronn Lue needs to avoid lineups with Keaton Wagler and Isaiah Jackson
We can start with the numbers: According to NBA.com’s advanced two-man lineups tool, in the 59 minutes Keaton Wagler and Isaiah Jackson have shared the floor this season, they’ve posted a net rating of -36.0.
This is an abysmal statistic, and the worst two-man lineup (min. 50 minutes) head coach Tyronn Lue has deployed thus far.
Swapping out Jackson for Brook Lopez, who has shared the court with Wagler for 122 minutes, the net rating suddenly becomes +8.0, which is the sixth-best two-man lineup (min. 50 min) on the LA Clippers.
That said, it’s not rocket science. Jackson's offensive limitations are clearly the problem here, and moving forward, Lue must avoid having these two on the floor together.
Lue should maximize lineups with Wagler and Lopez
Brook Lopez is just a much better fit next to Keaton Wagler. This is primarily because he can shoot the lights out of the arena.
Doing so opens the defense up entirely, as there’s more space for Wagler to operate. He can drive aggressively to the rim, find his sweet spot in the mid-range, or get a good look from beyond the arc. And, when in trouble, the rookie can confidently kick it to the seven-footer, knowing there’s a respectably high chance the shot will fall. Jackson can’t really do any of this, which the advanced stats above back up.
That said, to maximize Wagler’s abilities and make winning games easier, Tyronn Lue should leave the rookie on the court with Lopez more than he already is. It’s proven to work time and time again this season.
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