The second-best lineup for the Lakers without Anthony Davis:
Carmelo Anthony, Wayne Ellington, Dwight Howard, Malik Monk, Russell Westbrook
This is clearly the lineup that the Los Angeles Lakers should be playing the most when LeBron James is on the bench. It is the only lineup of the top three that does not feature LeBron James and is better than a lot of lineups that do feature LeBron.
On paper, it may seem strange that this lineup actually works for the Lakers. The best player on the floor is Russell Westbrook and you are pairing him with a traditional center in Dwight Howard. Plus, the three-headed monster of Carmelo, Monk and Ellington provides really poor wing defense.
However, the defense is going to be pretty bad regardless of who the Lakers throw out there, especially without AD. I love the idea of ignoring the defense and playing someone like THT or Johnson in this lineup and instead full committing to putting the team’s three-best shooters on the floor.
This is a lineup that best utilizes Russell Westbrook. It gives him a traditional center to run the pick-and-roll with and surrounds the two with three guys who have no problem standing at the three-point line to receive a drive and kick pass.
This five-man lineup has played 28.5 minutes together across eight games and has a net rating of +19.7.