2. Who makes it in the Los Angeles Lakers’ closing lineup?
While it is yet to be seen who is going to start at center for the Los Angeles Lakers we certainly know who is going to finish games at the position: Anthony Davis. That obviously will not be the case all season but in close games against notable positions, Davis will be playing the five in the closing minutes of the game as he would in the NBA Playoffs.
As it stands right now, there are only three players who are guaranteed to play in the closing lineup. Davis, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are the only players who get the honor and quite frankly, it would not be totally shocking if Westbrook got moved out in certain circumstances as well.
We broke down the lineup mistakes that Frank Vogel could not afford to make, one of which was not putting two defensive liabilities in the closing lineup with these three. The team can afford one bad defender but two is an issue.
One of the players is going to be whoever is shooting the best from beyond the arc. Wayne Ellington and Carmelo Anthony are the early favorites but if Malik Monk can shoot up to his ceiling and plays better defense then he could make the cut as well.
I would like to see the fifth closing lineup spot going to someone who is better on defense and can help the ball move. Talen Horton-Tucker is a good option and I do not even hate the idea of adding length in Trevor Ariza as well.
It will all play out in the regular season but if I had to guess now, I would guess they run a three-guard lineup with Westbrook, THT and Ellington with LeBron and Davis in the frontcourt.