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3 Los Angeles Lakers who will lose the most minutes once team is healthy

By Jason Reed

MIAMI, FL - APRIL 08: Wesley Matthews #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates after hitting a three point shot during the first half of the game against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on April 8, 2021 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.(Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - APRIL 08: Wesley Matthews #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates after hitting a three point shot during the first half of the game against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on April 8, 2021 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.(Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

3. Wesley Matthews

Wesley Matthews is not directly impacted by LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the same way that Markieff Morris and Kyle Kuzma are. However, he is impacted by there being two more players added to a rotation that already has two more players that were not present beforeand.

Simply put: the four ‘additions’ in LeBron, AD, Drummond and McLemore are going to take away minutes from some of the role players and Matthews is going to be hit the hardest by that.

Matthews has been serviceable defensively but he has not had the offensive impact that was expected. He has been extremely inconsistent this season and is not the knock-down shooter that the Lakers were hoping for.

The addition of McLemore, who is shooting the ball well to start his Lakers tenure, makes it easier to reduce Matthews’ workload. Matthews is still the better defender, but with the likes of Alex Caruso, the Lakers might not really even need Matthews.

The ironic part is that Matthews is not even seeing an increase in minutes with LeBron and AD out. He is averaging 19.6 minutes per game in 10 games while averaging 20.1 minutes per game over the season.

He is essentially getting the exact same playing time and that its only going to shrink once LeBron James and Anthony Davis return and take up 70 minutes of the rotation.

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Quite frankly, I would not be shocked if Matthews is not in the rotation at all in the NBA Playoffs.

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