The Los Angeles Lakers preseason has come to an end and the next time that the purple and gold suit up it will actually count. The Lakers open the 2021 season against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, October 19.
The preseason was less than ideal for the Lakers as the team finished with an 0-6 record. More concerningly, most of the games were not even competitive. They were blowout losses for LA.
The regular season is much different than the preseason and there are certain players on the Lakers that should get less playing time than they got in the preseason. The last preseason game of the year is a good indication of what the rotation could look like. We will be using those minutes for this article.
3 players on the Los Angeles Lakers roster that should get less playing time:
1. DeAndre Jordan
DeAndre Jordan just does not have it anymore. While he is fine as a veteran depth option, having him be the starting center for the Los Angeles Lakers is less than ideal. There is a reason why the Brooklyn Nets were so willing to part ways with Jordan and that has shown itself in the preseason.
He is just slow and is not as dynamic as he once was. You could even make the case that this version of Jordan is not as good as JaVale McGee was two seasons ago for LA.
Dwight Howard should be the starting center and the Lakers really should flip the minutes played between the two players. Jordan started and played 15 minutes. Howard came off the bench and played 13.
Howard should start and play around 17 minutes a game and Jordan should play around 11-12 off the bench.