Los Angeles Lakers: Comparing each position in 2019-2020 to last season
By Ethan Temkin
Shooting guard
2018-2019 SG Depth Chart: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Josh Hart, Svi Mykahiluk, Lance Stephenson
2019-2020 SG Depth Chart: Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Avery Bradley, Troy Daniels
To quickly run down last year’s shooting-guard depth, KCP stands as the only established two-guard the Lakers had last year, as Josh Hart was injured for major chunks of the season, and Lance Stephenson was well…Lance Stephenson.
Also, due to LeBron nabbing the starting SF spot, Ingram had to slide down to SG and play out of position, which greatly minimized his effectiveness on the court.
This year, the shooting guard position is much more solidified, with a clear hierarchy and direction. Danny Green will be the starter for this position and is one of the best plug-and-play players out there. His defense and shooting will be huge for this team, as well as his ability to guard opposing wings at an elite level.
The two reserve shooting-guards, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Avery Bradley; are both undersized at the shooting guard position, but both are solid point-guard defenders. Depending on what the team wants to do at the point-guard position, one of these two may end up starting as well, ceding playmaking duties to LeBron James, while focusing on defending the opposing team’s point guard.
If the Lakers want to get really crafty, they can potentially roll out an all-defensive lineup of Caldwell-Pope/Bradley/Green/James/Davis that seems like an absolute terror to both score against and defend.
With all of this in mind, this year’s shooting guard rotation is miles better than last year’s.