Los Angeles Lakers: Starting lineup locks, fringe, and potential break-ins

Fringe options for the starting lineup

Guard: Dennis Schröder, Wesley Matthews

Last season the Los Angeles Lakers did not seem as concerned with filling specific “positions” in their starting lineup so much as roles. With the ball in LeBron James’ hands so often, the need for a “true point guard” was diminished. That doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable; there is a reason Rajon Rondo got so much run in the postseason, and why the team traded a good player in Danny Green and a first-round pick this offseason to bring in Dennis Schröder. They just might not force a traditional point guard into the starting lineup.

Last season, two players most often deployed as 2-guards in Avery Bradley and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope started as the “point guard” for the Lakers. With Caldwell-Pope a lock to start, the team could opt for another wing defender and start new acquisition Wesley Matthews. The former Marquette Golden Eagle comes to the Lakers via the Milwaukee Bucks, where he started for a title contender.

Dennis Schröder believes that the Lakers will start a more traditional point guard, or at least that they should. After he declared on a Zoom call that he expects to start for the defending champions, the Lakers made it known they had not landed on a starting lineup yet.

Whether Matthews or Schröder starts, both will get a lot of burn for the Lakers. Matthews is the best wing defender on the team, and will be called upon often to defend players such as Paul George or James Harden. On the other hand, Schröder is the only rotation-worthy guard with strong shot creation skills, and he proved last year alongside Chris Paul that he can be valuable even in an off-ball role. Almost certainly one of these two players will be a starter, and both may end up closing games.

Center: Montrezl Harrell, Marc Gasol

There are two primary ways to deploy a versatile giant such as Anthony Davis. The first is to place him at center, where he has the size and strength to excel and allowing the team to play another wing. The second is to pair him with a traditional center, which creates an elite defensive combo to wall off the rim and likely saves Davis’ body from some wear-and-tear.

Last season the Lakers completely committed to the latter strategy, almost exclusively playing Davis alongside JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard. The two traditional centers combined for 70 starts in 71 games. Assuming the Lakers want to continue that approach, the newly signed Marc Gasol would be a natural fit for the final starting slot. Gasol even brings a floor-spacing element that McGee and Howard lack.

Reading the tea leaves, the Lakers may be going in another direction. They signed Gasol for a two-year veteran’s minimum contract; they signed former LA Clippers center Montrezl Harrell for $19 million over two years. Their investment in Harrell, and his expectations coming in, may signal he will be the starter. The fit with Davis is less obvious; while Davis is versatile and talented enough to make any pairing work, Harrell is an undersized offense-oriented center who doesn’t space the floor. Playing he and Davis together doesn’t give the defensive benefits of a two-big lineup, while eliminating the spacing benefits of a small-ball lineup.

Gasol and Harrell both have a role on this team, especially as they have not added a third center yet. If Harrell can be coaxed into a heavy-minutes bench load it may help to balance out the starting lineup. After years of being a sub with the LA Clippers, however, he may be ready for his turn in the starting spotlight.