Los Angeles Lakers: 3 players who could force their way into starting five

By Jason Reed | Aug 25, 2021

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(Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

2. Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony is a more likely candidate to be in the crunch time lineup than he is the starting lineup but there is a reality in which he is included in both. To start off the season, it would not be surprising to see the Lakers start Melo off the bench, keeping his workload down to keep his production up.

He will still get plenty of playing time, but bringing him fresh off the bench could create a more effective Carmelo, which is the goal for every player on the Lakers.

However, there is a route in which Melo continues to hit shots as a great clip and turns into one of the most reliable off-ball shooters not only on the Lakers, but in the league. He certainly has the offensive prowess to reach that level.

He would not replace Ellington, however. Melo is too big to play the two-guard and while the Lakers could technically operate LeBron at point and Melo at the three, that does cause some bad defensive matchups.

Instead, Melo would be a starting option if the Lakers wanted to go smaller and add more shooting to the starting lineup. Carmelo could replace Howard in the starting five, moving Anthony Davis to center.

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