Frank Vogel has some questions surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers’ lineups this season.
This offseason, Rob Pelinka set out to ensure that depth — one of their supposed weaknesses in the 19-20 season — would be one of their strengths. He signed both the winner and the runner-up for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award. He re-signed key pieces of the championship squad like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Markieff Morris.
With the new offseason acquisitions and players like Talen Horton-Tucker and Kyle Kuzma vying for increased minutes, Vogel is playing with an eleven-piece puzzle on a five-piece board.
Look up and down the roster from Lebron James to Horton-Tucker — each player can either execute a well-defined role across different lineups or are versatile enough to assume different roles as demanded.
The permutations of different lineups they could trot out are endless.
Their depth might widen the team’s margin of error. Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers could not afford James or Davis to have an off game. This season, there are more players down the roster that can pick up each other’s slack.
Their depth also provides a challenge for Vogel, a good challenge to have, but a challenge nonetheless. How does Vogel ensure that he maximizes this group’s potential while also giving each player their deserved minutes? Can he find the right combinations that can accentuate each player’s strengths while hiding their weaknesses?
Watching Vogel tinker with lineup constructions will be one of the more fascinating subplots of the season. Here are three lineup questions Vogel must figure out as the season progresses.