When the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a three-year, $33 million contract with guard Gabe Vincent, plenty of fans were intrigued, but some questioned the fit.
Vincent, as the latter group saw it, was no better than Dennis Schroder, the man he replaces on the roster. In fact, some believe Vincent may have been a slight downgrade, given Schroder’s speed and quickness in the open court, not to mention the chemistry he built with the team this past season.
However, Vincent could prove a better fit for the Lakers even if he isn’t a better player overall, and for role players, fit is often more important than being a better overall player.
Vincent is better in catch-and-shoot situations
If one looks at Vincent’s shooting percentages from 3-point range, one may conclude he isn’t reliable from that distance. He hit 37.8% from that distance during the 2023 NBA playoffs, but he was at only 33.4% during the regular season.
However, with the Lakers, Vincent will be called upon to knock down 3s in catch-and-shoot situations off passes from LeBron James, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves, and the advanced stats show he’s clearly better in that area than Schroder.
This past regular season, he hit 34.7% of his catch-and-shoot treys, which was nearly identical to Schroder’s 35.1% mark. In the playoffs, Vincent was at 44.6% in that category, while Schroder made only 32.4% of such attempts.
During the 2021-22 regular season, Vincent made 38.6% of his catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts, compared to only 34.1% for Schroder.
The key for the former University of California, Santa Barbara player is to consistently shoot at least 36% from downtown this season. If he does so, he should earn plenty of playing time.
Vincent on defense
Like Schroder, Vincent can pressure opposing guards full court. While the former weighs just over 170 pounds, Vincent is about 195 pounds and an inch taller, which gives him an advantage on the defensive end.
He fights through screens on pick-and-roll coverage, which can come in handy versus Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets. Vincent may be able to hold his own when he switches onto bigger guards, something Schroder struggles with.
Teams tend to hunt Schroder on the defensive end because of his slight frame. While he is an effective defender on small guards, he isn’t nearly as effective on guards that have size.
