After the Los Angeles Lakers made their big splash trade for Russell Westbrook, three starting spots for the Lakers were assumingly filled with a big three of him LeBron James and Anthony Davis being formed. The question mark heading into the season is who head coach Frank Vogel will choose to play alongside of them to start and close games.
Some of the Lakers’ best lineups last season and during their championship run in 2020, were ones that had their star big man Anthony Davis at center, even though he has been somewhat reluctant to play big minutes there for the past couple of years.
Then when the Lakers went out and signed Dwight Howard at the start of free agency and picked up DeAndre Jordan more recently it felt like AD was unlikely to start or play big minutes at the five this season as well.
However a report from Shams Charania, Bill Oram, and Sam Amick that came out early this week suggests the opposite, the report in the Athletic stated,
"“With Westbrook aboard, sources said Davis has emerged as the expected starting center, clearing the way for a likely starting five of him, Westbrook, Elligton, Ariza and James, according to sources, Third-year guard Talen Horton-Tucker, a rising, young talent for the Lakers is also expected to compete in camp for a possible starting role.”"
This report should be good news for the Lakers because Davis is currently the only Lakers big man that can stretch the floor and help create spacing for a potentially awkward on-court fit with him, James and Westbrook. AD might not be the best 3-point shooting big man in the league, but he is a threat from that range and has proven he can hit big 3-point shots in the playoffs.
There were also rumors in the offseason that the Lakers big three got together to talk before the Westbrook trade and Davis agreed to play more five to do whatever it takes to make their big three work together. It is probably going to make sacrifices like that from all three stars to make this three-headed monster work with such high-volume scorers trying to share the ball.
If AD did start at center it could create a lineup that included two sharpshooters like Ellington at shooting guard and Carmelo Anthony at the small or power forward spot. If Davis did not start there then it would force Howard or Jordan on the court that could create a log jam in the paint with two players that are subpar from beyond the arc at point and center.
It is glaringly obvious that the Lakers’ best starting lineup is one that would include Davis at the five, so that was not super surprising to see that in this report. What was relatively surprising was seeing that the youngest player on the roster, Talen Horton-Tucker, is getting consideration to start.
Horton-Tucker has shown flashes of having great offensive ability in his brief NBA career, but he has had limitations on the defensive end. They will be looking for a defensive-minded guard to fill the shoes of both Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso who departed this offseason and carried the defensive load on the perimeter against the past couple of seasons.
Apparently, Vogel believes Horton-Tucker has the ability to develop into that type of defensive stopper this season saying on Spectrum SportsNet’s “Lakeshow” podcast,
"“You talk about the defensive end, and who’s going to be that guy, he’s been challenged… Yes, we did (invest in him). For good reason. He has the ability, the last few years as a young player he’s gotten a little bit better as we’ve gone, but he’s one of those guys, that looking at KCP and Alex not being here, can you step up and fill into that role of guarding some of the other best players.”"
It might be a stretch to think THT can go from a below-average defender last season to one the Lakers can rely on to lock down some of the NBA’s premier guards. But if he can use his wide wingspan and athleticism to make a leap in that regard he should definitely get some run with the first unit to help solidify the defense.
So who should start out of all the veterans the Los Angeles Lakers signed?
Truly the starting lineup should be based on what match-up presents itself to the Los Angeles Lakers on a nightly basis.
Yet, if the reports are true that Davis is willing to move to center, then the group that will likely get the first crack at it will be the one mentioned in the Athletic’s piece, Westbrook, Ellington, Trevor Ariza, James, and Davis. They all are stable NBA veterans that have played on the big stage in their careers and along with the big three, Ariza gives them some defense, and Ellington gives them spot-up shooting.
Ariza also has been a part of a Lakers title run early in his career, sure it was over a decade ago, but he still has the necessary experience and attitude to excel in Los Angeles with the purple and gold. He mentioned at Lakers media day,
“My spot is just to come in and do what the team needs me to do. I am a plug-and-play type player.”
This is the type of attitude the Lakers need throughout their whole roster, but especially in a starting group that already features three ball-dominant star players.
Kent Bazemore is also another intriguing former Laker that could play his way into the starting lineup with his ability to be a 3 and D player at the shooting guard position. He could see more time than expected if he brings energy on the defensive end and shows the ability to defend other teams better guards.
Other candidates to sneak in the starting or closing lineup could include the young up-and-coming Malik Monk who could be swapped for Ellington if he is shooting the ball at a higher clip from 3-point range. Also, Carmelo is an interesting stretch four candidate that could help lighten James’ load down low and move him back to the small forward spot.
Both Rondo and Kendrick Nunn could find themselves in the starting lineup if the fit between the big three is too clunky and they decide to change it up at point guard to space out the minutes between LeBron and Westbrook.
Rondo could even finish big games with Westbrook because he had a calming presence on the floor as a floor general during his last go around with the team, and Nunn could also start and play alongside Westbrook because he is a combo guard that can play off-ball and be a catch and shoot threat.
They can also go big when the Lakers play traditional centers like Joel Embiid or Deandre Ayton and scoring centers like Nikola Jokic, and start Howard or Jordan at the five and slide Davis to the four.
However, if they want the best results this season their go-to lineup should feature Davis at the five, LeBron at the four, Westbrook at point, and some mixture of two role players that prove to compliment them best. Only time will tell which players those are, but they definitely have a deep group of guys that they can try out alongside them.