LA Lakers’ Survival Guide for Life Without Metta World Peace

As has been the case all season long, the Los Angeles Lakers will have to make some adjustments on the fly. This time, they'll be tweaking a few things in an effort to survive without Metta World Peace, who'll miss the remainder of the regular season with a torn meniscus.

With one MWP-free game already under their belts—a 113-103 loss to the similarly dysfunctional, but substantially healthier Milwaukee Bucks—coach Mike D'Antoni has already given a pretty good indication of what he'll do without his starting small forward.

Here's a rundown of the changes we've already seen, and a few more that are likely on the way.

 

Jodie Meeks: Starter

It has come to this: Jodie Meeks is going to start (and probably play a whole lot) for the Lakers.

Against the Bucks on March 28, Meeks joined the starting unit and logged a hearty 39 minutes. He shot 4-of-12 from the field, 1-of-6 from long range and posted just 11 points on the night.

So, things could have gone a little better for Meeks.



But with MWP out, the Lakers are sure to utilize Meeks a ton in the season's remaining games. Particularly against opposing teams that employ smaller lineups, Meeks makes the most sense for L.A. He shoots the long ball at a 36.5 percent clip, which constitutes a slight upgrade over World Peace's season mark of 34.7 percent.

That's one difference that favors L.A.'s new rotation player, but unfortunately he shares World Peace's low overall accuracy rate and inexplicable inability to finish in transition. Meeks takes everything to the hole with gusto on the break, but he tends to suffer from tunnel vision and rarely converts tough chances on the fly.

Meeks' insertion into the starting lineup means Kobe Bryant will likely slide over to the small forward spot, and Antawn Jamison and Earl Clark will see a slight uptick in their minutes off the bench.

Othe...

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