![\"Alex](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-1350677018-e1739576677917.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=780\")
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The Los Angeles Lakers experiment with Alex Len did not go well in their first try, suffering a 131-119 loss to the Utah Jazz that snapped their six-game winning streak.<\/p>\n
Len\u2019s final stats line \u2014 4 points on 2-of-5 shooting, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in 22 minutes \u2014 did not tell the whole story.<\/p>\n
His numbers were inflated by garbage time in the Lakers\u2019 blowout loss.<\/p>\n
The Lakers were outscored by nine points with Len as their center after Jaxson Hayes went down with a facial injury in the first quarter and did not return. Len\u2019s 7-foot, 250-pound frame did not deter the Jazz frontcourt player from attacking the rim.<\/p>\n
The Jazz were 7-of-10 against Len\u2019s defense inside the paint, according to NBA matchup tracking data. Utah\u2019s frontcourt duo of Lauri Markkanen and John Collins feasted against his interior defense with a combined perfect 5-of-5 shooting.<\/p>\n
Jovan Buha of The Athletic saw this coming before the Lakers officially signed Len.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the Lakers end up with Alex Len, I would not feel comfortable starting Alex Len if Jaxson Hayes goes down,\u201d Buha said on his podcast \u201cBuha\u2019s Block\u201d on Feb. 11. \u201cAlex Len I think is like a fringe roster player right now. So, I\u2019m personally not high on the move. I think the Lakers could probably find a better big.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n But the market for big men has dried up after the trade deadline has passed. So the Lakers settled with Len.<\/p>\n \u201cI get it like optically if they want to just find their big and add that player but I don\u2019t think Len is [that guy]. He is pretty much washed at this point to be honest,\u201d Buha bluntly said.<\/em><\/p>\n 3 Centers Lakers Should Monitor<\/strong><\/p>\n The Lakers can still waive one more player to sign a center.<\/p>\n Buha floated three centers who could be potential buyout signing candidates for them.<\/p>\n \u201cAs for what\u2019s next, I think the Lakers have to continue to monitor the center market if Larry Nance Jr. or Kelly Olynyk or Chris Boucher become available,\u201d Buha said. \u201cI think they should waive a second player and add one of those big men.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n John Hollinger of The Athletic wrote the Atlanta Hawks may want to hold on to Nance because of his Bird rights that could be valuable.<\/p>\n Olynyk has yet to play for the Pelicans after he was thrown in as a salary filler in the Brandon Ingram trade. He was a key reserve in Toronto playing 15.6 minutes off the bench before the trade.<\/p>\n Boucher\u2019s expiring contract generated trade interest but he remained with the Raptors past the Feb. 6 deadline. Jake Fischer reported on \u201cThe Stein Line\u201d on Substack that \u201cthere has been no discussion to this point on a Boucher buyout.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lakers may be stuck with Len and hope Hayes will be healthy for the rest of the season.<\/p>\n JJ Redick Gives Alex Len a Pass for Being in \u2018Tough Spot\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n The brutal loss in Utah showed how fragile the Lakers\u2019 chances this season, despite pairing LeBron James and Luka Doncic with their thin center rotation.<\/p>\n With Hayes down, Len was the next man up but he was not up to the task.<\/p>\n Though Lakers coach JJ Redick gave Len some grace because he did not have the benefit of practice.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought he was fine,\u201d Redick said of Len after the loss that snapped their six-game winning streak. \u201cI mean there\u2019s been a lot of that this year when we just like had to put guys in tough spots. We\u2019ve had to put our two-way guys in tough spots, we had to put Alex in a tough spot. He was fine.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Len revealed he did not know any of the Lakers plays.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a crazy 24 hours just thinking you\u2019re going one place and then coming over here and getting signed,\u201d Len told reporters. \u201c[I] Came over here and played a game, just tried to stay in the moment and keep things simple.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Los Angeles Lakers experiment with Alex Len did not go well in their first try, suffering a 131-119 loss to the Utah Jazz that snapped their… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33869,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n