Los Angeles Lakers lineup preview, Pt. 3: How small is too small?
The Los Angeles Lakers lineup previews continue with the smallest lineup we’ve done up to this point. With three rookies, three guards and no true big man, can the Lakers go this small and compete?
On paper, this Los Angeles Lakers’ roster lacks the talent to make the playoffs in a brutal Western Conference that saw two non-playoff teams improve drastically in the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. It’s plausible to see the Lakers push for the eighth seed, but this team is building for the future and shouldn’t be too disappointed if they miss out on the postseason for the fourth consecutive time.
However, a team out of playoff contention has room to experiment with lineups during the final weeks of the regular season. Playing younger players extended minutes provides a platform for the coaching staff to see what it has for the future.
This particular Lakers lineup has plenty of youth and intrigue that could be a game-changing small-ball unit if everything clicks:
At first glance, a lineup consisting of Ball-Hart-Caldwell-Pope-Ingram and any of the Lakers’ big men (Brook Lopez, Julius Randle, etc.) should receive court time together early in the season. There’s too much offensive firepower to not play together on the court.
Trusting Kuzma defensively at the 5 and playing this many rookies likely would have to wait until later in the season for its debut. But it’s a lineup that has all the pieces to succeed in the modern NBA.