Unused 5-man lineups the Los Angeles Lakers should experiment with
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers were the favorites to win the NBA Championship in the Western Conference prior to the 2021-22 season and now it would be surprising if the team is able to avoid the Play-In Tournament to even make the playoffs this season.
The bold move of trading for Russell Westbrook simply has not worked out and while it is not all Westbrook’s fault, the fact of the matter is that Westbrook does not fit this roster and his massive salary restricted the team from bringing in quality depth.
Add in the fact that Frank Vogel and the coaching staff have not been great in making rotation decisions and you have what the Lakers have been this season: a disappointment.
Something needs to change but without making a trade at the NBA trade deadline, the Lakers’ only resource is a buyout signing. While that can help raise the floor of the team, no buyout guy is going to bring wholesale changes.
Instead, the Los Angeles Lakers may need to get creative with their lineups.
Something needs to change and while time is running out, Frank Vogel should utilize the time he does have to experiment with certain rotations. We put together three different five-man lineups that have not been used this season that Vogel and the Lakers should try.
On paper each of these lineups has holes but with the way the roster is built, any five-man lineup is going to have holes. Each lineup follows a different trend that the Lakers could utilize in different situations and who knows, maybe the team can strike gold.