Los Angeles Lakers: 2 things J.R. Smith has to prove in the seeding games

1. J.R. Smith needs to prove to the Los Angeles Lakers that he is a good fit in the backcourt alongside Rajon Rondo

Here is a spoiler alert: J.R. Smith is not going to be replacing Avery Bradley in the starting rotation. Not only is Smith not going to replace Bradley as a starter, but he should not get close to Bradley’s 25 minutes per game that he was allotted in the rotation and definitely should not be in the Lakers’ crunch time lineup.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has done everything needed to earn that spot in the starting lineup and in crunch time as he has been a lot better than most people give him credit for this season. Smith has not played an NBA game in almost two years, he can’t be trusted in a huge role.

However, he can be trusted as part of the second unit, which is going to mostly be alongside Rajon Rondo. While Rondo naturally sees minutes with the first unit as well, his primary function on this Lakers team is as the secondary ballhandler and facilitator behind LeBron James.

Thus, Rondo is the point guard that Smith will probably see most of his playing time around and he is going to have to prove in this eight-game stretch that he is a better fit in the backcourt next to Rondo than Alex Caruso or Dion Waiters.

Knocking down his three-point shots is obviously a factor in that fit but Smith is going to have to develop a chemistry with Rondo and is going to have to develop it quickly.

He has the chemistry with LeBron already built up, but that chemistry with Rondo is going to be more important in determining how often he is on the floor.