The Los Angeles Lakers roster is much different this season than it was at the end of last season. All in all, there are only three players — LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Talen Horton-Tucker — that are returning from last year’s team.
Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo are returning after spending a season away from LA but their roles will be different this time around. Not so much for Howard but Rondo will play a much smaller role on the court.
Rob Pelinka brought in several new pieces and the Lakers, despite their age, are actually one of the deepest teams in the league. Thirteen of the 14 players on the Lakers roster are legitimate rotation players with the one exception being undrafted rookie, Austin Reaves, who has all the signs of being a hidden gem that will take time.
Perhaps the biggest question around the Lakers’ new roster is not who is going to be in the starting five but who is going to be in Frank Vogel’s end-game lineup. That is when games are won and lost and the end-game lineup will be different from the starting five.
Thanks to beat reporter Mike Trudell, we may have gotten our answer for what the end-game lineup will look like.
At the end of Tuesday’s practice, the first team is a small ball group for LAL composed of LeBron, AD, Westbrook, Melo and Monk. AD just hit a contested 2 from the corner, then LeBron drained a fadeaway from the baseline on the next trip down. pic.twitter.com/wqQzysClVB
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 5, 2021
Does this end-game lineup make sense for the Los Angeles Lakers?
Of course, just because this was the group playing at the end of practice does not mean it is the end-game lineup. However, the fact that it is small and has Anthony Davis at the five is telling. While the team might substitute a player out for someone who is hot, I would bet that this is the first rendition of the end-game lineup.
Personally, I am not a huge fan of it. This is a lineup that is going to be very good at scoring the ball as all five players on the floor can score from virtually anywhere. There are two 40%+ shooters alongside the big three and that will be good when it comes to the offense.
It is the defensive side of the ball that is worrisome. Anthony Davis is an elite defensive player and LeBron James is really good when he really tries, which will be saved for big games and the playoffs. Russell Westbrook has good advanced numbers because of his hustle on every play, but does lack some situational decision-making that hurts the team.
So in the big three, we have one elite defender, one average defender and one below-average defender. Let’s call that a wash and say that the trio is an average defensive trio. That is fine if they have good defensive role players next to them. That is not what this is.
Carmelo Anthony and Malik Monk are arguably the two biggest defensive liabilities on the entire team. Anthony has never been a great defender and at this point in his career should be considered a bad defender. Monk, meanwhile, posted the second-worst Defensive Box Plus/Minus in the league last season.
Who guards an elite guard like Damian Lillard in this end-game lineup? What do the Lakers do if Anthony Davis has to guard someone like Deandre Ayton? Who is going to guard Devin Booker? Chris Paul?
Personally, I would like to see the Los Angeles Lakers’ closing lineup have at least one good defensive role player in the closing lineup. For me, that means replacing Malik Monk with Talen Horton-Tucker. As much as I like Monk as a bench scorer, I like THT’s defense better and his lack of three-point shooting should not hurt that bad with LeBron, Westbrook, AD and Carmelo all on the floor.
Of course, there is plenty of time for the Los Angeles Lakers to adjust but let’s hope that this is not the end-game lineup for the team.