3. LeBron James and Josh Hart
This combination will be advantageous because of the improvements Josh Hart has made to his game over the offseason. Hart is currently shooting just under 40.5 percent from downtown and shot a respectable 39.6 percent in his rookie season.
While Josh Hart’s assist numbers have not improved yet since last season, at 1.4 per game now, he looks more confident when attacking the basket. His unwillingness to use his midrange arsenal gives this combination a weakness, with Josh Hart being 1-of-7 on any shot that isn’t at the rim or behind the arc.
Hart is one of those players, though, that does all the little things correctly, meaning he is a very good screen setter. So if the Lakers decide to run this with Hart screening for LeBron, it is almost guaranteed Josh will give LeBron an excellent screen, making his life a little easier as the ballhandler.
Josh needs to improve his ball handling more, but the fact that he is the most consistent shooter Lakers have now makes this pick and roll a must have option. LeBron as the ball handler will get him switches on to shooting guards, who he can also bully into the paint. As Josh Hart continues to improve his ball handling and off the dribble shooting, this combination will become deadly.