The NBA’s opening week has made one tactical point clear: five-out spacing is no longer merely a late-game experiment. The Lakers’ wins over the Warriors and Clippers, Oklahoma City’s statement victories over San Antonio and Denver, and Boston’s narrow win over New York all showed that teams built around shooting, movement, and quick decisions can force traditional rim protectors into impossible choices.
The Lakers provided the most direct example. Luka Doncic’s 127-105 dismantling of Golden State showed how a five-out alignment can turn a drop-coverage centre into a target rather than a safety net. When Doncic received a high screen, the Warriors had to decide whether their big stayed near the paint to protect the rim or stepped out to contest a pull-up three. Either answer created an advantage: a clean look from deep, a pocket pass to a rolling big, or a drive into a rotated defence.
Walker Kessler’s role made that structure even more dangerous. He scored 26 points on 12-of-12 shooting against Golden State, then added 22 points and six blocks against the Clippers, giving Los Angeles a rim-running finisher who can punish help defenders without requiring the offence to abandon spacing. That balance matters. A five-out look does not mean removing the centre; it means using a mobile big who can screen, dive, finish, and still occupy the short corner when the ball is on the opposite side.
The Clippers tried to counter with backcourt pressure and physicality, but the Lakers’ third-quarter 39-26 run showed how quickly spacing can punish a defence that has to rotate multiple times. Austin Reaves’ 28 points and nine assists were central to that stretch, as Los Angeles repeatedly created advantage situations before the Clippers could recover to their assignments.
Oklahoma City’s opening week reinforced the same principle from a different angle. The Thunder beat San Antonio 116-104 and then defeated Denver, combining disciplined defence with an offence that does not need a traditional post-up big to generate quality shots. Their ability to frustrate Victor Wembanyama in the opener showed that rim protection can still be elite, but only when the surrounding defenders can switch, recover, and contest without surrendering open threes.
Boston’s 107-103 win over New York added another lesson. Jayson Tatum’s 36 points carried the Celtics, but their offensive structure repeatedly forced the Knicks to protect the paint while also respecting shooters on the perimeter. That is the modern dilemma: a traditional drop-coverage big can deter drives, but he can also be targeted in pick-and-roll, dragged away from the basket, or left guarding a shooter after a switch.
The problem for conventional rim protectors is not that shot-blocking has become irrelevant. Kessler’s six blocks against the Clippers prove otherwise. The issue is that rim protection now has to coexist with versatility. A centre who can only sit in the paint becomes vulnerable when opponents use five shooters to pull him away from his comfort zone. The best modern bigs must contest at the rim, switch onto smaller players for short stretches, recover to shooters, and make quick reads in short-roll situations.
Opening week also showed why defensive communication matters as much as individual athleticism. Against five-out offences, one late rotation creates a chain reaction: the helper leaves a corner shooter, the low man must rotate again, and the original driver has an easy finish or kickout. The Lakers’ 63% first-half shooting against Golden State reflected exactly that kind of breakdown.
The early evidence suggests the league’s best offences will continue to attack traditional rim protection through spacing rather than brute force. Teams that pair a skilled playmaker with shooting wings and a mobile centre—like the Lakers with Doncic and Kessler—can make opponents choose between protecting the rim and preserving the perimeter. Opening week has not ended the value of shot-blocking, but it has made clear that rim protection without switchability is becoming a tactical liability.