Lakerholics

Rob Pelinka and the Lakers may have an opportunity to pull off a pair of blockbuster trades and steal a pair of elite second-tier star players from potential dumpster fire sales by the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz.

Right now, the Lakers need to go all-in to upgrade the starting positions held by D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince if they want to be a legitimate contender to prevail and win their 18th NBA championship this season. The Lakers’ primary targets to replace D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince in their starting lineup should be the Grizzlies Marcus Smart on or after December 15 and the Jazz’ Lauri Markkanen on or after January 15.

While the Lakers are off to a relatively good start despite not having their full 14-man roster healthy and available to play, they already have a good idea of their major weaknesses and what they need to do to get better.
Despite a deep and diverse roster, the Lakers still need a viable long-term two-way point guard to replace D’Angelo Russell and a high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter to add firepower to their starting lineup.

Complicating the situation for the Lakers, LeBron James will soon be 39-years old and there’s no guarantee at this point he’s going to exercise his player option and play next season. He could leave as a free agent or retire.
While that is probably unlikely considering how well the King is playing, the Lakers know the clock is ticking and, at some point soon, they’re going to have to replace LeBron James despite how irreplaceable he will be.

Let’s look at the what it would take for L.A. to pull off a pair of blockbuster trades for the Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart and Jazz’ Lauri Markkanen that could transform the purple and gold from a contender to an NBA champion.

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TRADE 1: DEC 15 — MARCUS SMART AND JOHN KONCHAR

The first blockbuster trade the Lakers should pursue on or after December 15 would send D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and their 2030 first round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for Marcus Smart and John Konchar.

The Memphis Grizzlies are a mess. They’re currently 14th in the West with 6–17 record and zero chance of making the playoffs even with Ja Morant returning to play. They should love a Lakers’ post-LeBron pick for Smart.

For the Lakers, while they valued Russell’s scoring and playmaking, in the end, they simply did not believe he could be the starting point guard on a championship team. They believe Smart is a better player and better fit.
The Lakers saw what adding Jrue Holiday did to the Bucks and Celtics defenses and believe replacing D’Angelo Russell with Marcus Smart will make the Lakers a more dangerous team both offensively and defensively.

Realistically, this trade for Smart will have to be paired with a second trade come January 15 that addresses the Lakers’ pressing need for a third star and volume 3-point shooter to upgrade the offense of their starting lineup.

The starting lineup of Smart, Reddish, Prince, James, and Davis has the potential to be a defensive juggernaut. Hopefully, Vincent will stay healthy and help Vanderbilt give a strong defensive identity to the second unit.

In Marcus Smart, the Lakers get their long term solution at point guard and a player whose heart and energy are contagious. Pairing him with Cam Reddish could give Los Angeles the best defensive backcourt in the league. Importantly, the Lakers still maintained a 12-man rotation, which give them some valuable insurance against future injuries. Considering our history and how many players get injured, consolidating could be risky.

As the Lakers have to wait until Hachimura is eligible to be traded, they will be forced to rely on their championship defense and domination in the paint and at on the line to continue to carry them until January 15.

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TRADE 2: JAN 15 — LAURI MARKKANEN AND KELLY OLYNYK

The second blockbuster trade the Lakers should make on or after January 15 would send Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and what’s essentially three unprotected first rounders to Utah for Lauri Markkanen and Kelly Olynyk.

The Lakers already owe the Jazz their 2027 first round pick unless it’s one of the top four picks but could remove that protection so that the pick was essentially now a completely unprotected post-LeBron first round pick.

The Lakers could also include first round pick swaps for 2028 and 2029, which combined with the 2027 pick would essentially give the Jazz L.A.’s unprotected post-LeBron first round draft picks for 2027, 2028, and 2029.
Frankly, three post-LeBron unprotected first round picks could be the kind of offer it would take to convince Danny Ainge to trade Lauri Markkanen, who at 27-years old is now the closest thing Utah has to a franchise player.

Not insignificantly, Danny Ainge could also be the only NBA shot caller likely to still be on the job when the Lakers 2027 and 2029 first round draft picks will actually be made. He knows those picks could be top-5 picks.

The starting lineup of Smart, Reddish, Markkanen, James, and Davis could be the best in the entire NBA with an offensive ‘Big Three’ of James, Davis, and Markkanen and a defensive ‘Big Three’ of Davis, Smart, and Reddish.

Markkanen may not be a superstar but he is the perfect fit as a third star and floor stretching volume 3-point shooting forward the Los Angeles Lakers desperately need to balance their defense-first starting lineup.
This season, Lauri is averaging 23.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 33.5 minutes per game shooting 48.7% from the field, 39.0% from deep on 8.5 attempts per game, and 82.9% from the line on 5 free throws per game.

His size will also finally allow the Lakers to play the two-bigs lineups they envisioned and preferred at the start of the season before both Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes failed to play good enough defense to win the job.

Finally healthy, the Lakers’ defensive dominance while winning four of their last five games has catapulted them to a 14–9 record tied for fourth in the West and could change how they plan to approach the trade deadline.

With Anthony Davis dominating everywhere, Cam Reddish emerging as the team’s starting defensive stopper, and Jarred Vanderbilt finally returning from injury, the Lakers have suddenly become a defensive juggernaut.
Over the last five games, the Lakers’ defense has posted a league-best 103.1 defensive rating that combined with their 114.6 offensive rating enabled them to generate a +11.5 net rating, which was second best in the league.

With backup point guard Gabe Vincent scheduled to return when the Lakers play the Knicks at home on December 18, the Lakers will finally have their full roster healthy for the very first time this entire season.
While D’Angelo Russell has been having an excellent season and is shooting 40.5% on 5.5 attempts per game, Gabe Vincent has the long term contract and is considered to be the better defender between the two.

How the Lakers play the rest of December will have a major impact on their ultimate trade deadline decisions. L.A. has 11 games remaining before December 31st and are unlikely to make any moves before then.
Should they continue to win games, dominate defensively, and rise in the standings, however, the Lakers may ultimately decide to stand pat or only make minor moves on the margins before the February 8 trade deadline.

Let’s take a look at how the Lakers’ defense has emerged as a dominant force, why the 11 games remaining in December could change Lakers’ midseason strategy, and what the Lakers are likely to do at the deadline.

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LAKERS’ DEFENSIVE DOMINATION

Injuries muddied the Lakers’ early vision of a big, long, and athletic bully ball defense that could dominate the paint,control the rim, and shrink the court and with their overwhelming positional size, length, and physicality.

Give Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham credit for the bold move that ignited the Lakers’ defense by moving Austin Reaves to 6th man and making Cam Reddish the team’s starting shooting guard and de facto defensive stopper.
In the 12 games since that change, the Lakers record is 10–2 and their defense has consistently ranked among five best in the league. Reddish has also played well offensively and appears to be a lock as starting two guard.

But the return of injured forwards Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura triggered a second wave of improvement for the Lakers size and defense. Now when Cam Reddish leaves the court, Jarred Vanderbilt comes in.
There was kind of a consensus Taurean Prince was simply a placeholder for Jarred Vanderbilt. While that could still turn out to be the case, being able to have an elite perimeter defender all 48 minutes is a killer weapon.

And that’s exactly what the Lakers threw at Tyrese Haliburton every minute he was in the game. Haliburton noted in his postgame presser thankfully “Not every team has Anthony Davis and a bunch of 6′ 8” and 6′ 9″ wings.” Every time the Pacers tried to pull Anthony Davis out of the paint with a Haliburton pick-and-roll, the Lakers counter by trapping and doubling Tyrese and forcing him to make tough passes that James was waiting for.

The Lakers’ defensive domination is real and should only get better when 6’3″ point-of-attack defender Gabe Vincent returns to action next week. Lakers plan to ride their #1 defense to a league-leading 18th NBA title.

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LAKERS’ DECEMBER CHALLENGE

The Los Angles Lakers’ December challenge starts with 4 winnable games, including 1 road game against the Mavs without Kyrie, 2 road games against the Spurs, and 1 home game against the Knicks without Mitchell Robinson.

Then comes the most challenging part of the Lakers’ December schedule as they depart on a 7-game road trip. From December 21 to 30, the Lakers play the Timberwolves twice and the Celtics and the Thunder once each.
Ideally, the Lakers should sweep the 3-game Texas road trip and 1-game homestand versus the Knicks to raise their record to 18–9. Should L.A. be able to go 5–2 on that road trip, it would leave them at 23–11 at year end.

A 23–11 record should be good enough for #2 seed in the West, assuming the Timberwolves continue to hold the #1 seed. Were the Lakers to win both of the teams’ games in late December, Lakers could even be #1.
While the Lakers continue to prove defense can carry them, they need better and more 3-point shooting to loosen up opposing defenses if they want to win the championship. Right now, it’s limiting their ceiling.

The numbers behind the Lakers’ poor 3-point shooting are telling. Lakers rank #30 with 10.2 makes per game while allowing 13.5 makes per game, which means they are losing the 3-point battle by 9.9 points per game.
The Lakers counter that by winning the points-in-the-paint battle by 6.5 points per game and the made-free-throws battle by 5.5 points. That’s the Lakers’ game plan and at this point, it’s working and Lakers are winning.

How the Lakers handle this December challenge will influence what the team does at the trade deadline. They’ll clearly have to shoot better than they did against the Pacers to survive the December challenge.

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LAKERS DEADLINE NEEDS

The Los Angeles Lakers are simply the worst 3-point shooting team in the league. They make the fewest threes of any NBA team because they take the second fewest attempts and shoot the fifth worst percentage of any team.

However, the Lakers have been better during the last 15 games of the season, when they’ve gone 11–4. During those 15 games, the team raised it’s 3-point percentage from 34.3% to 36.8%, which ranked 14th in the league.
The problem is that 2.5% increase in 3P% only worked out to be 1.8 more points per game because they still took less than 30 3PA per game. The Lakers will need to make a trade to solve their 3-point shooting problem

In the modern NBA era, the NBA championship has never been won by the team that is the worst 3-point shooting team in the league. The Lakers would have to make history to the NBA championship shooting so poorly.
Nor is the answer is Zach LaVine or Trae Young, who are both too expensive and fragile. More than anything, the Lakers need a proven lethal 3-point shooter who will torch teams every time they try to double LeBron or AD.

But the Lakers will need to trade for a volume 3-point shooter if they want to cut down on the massive negative 3-point differential that they face in almost every game. The current roster can’t shoot their way out of this. Pelinka may even have to spend a valuable draft pick to get a player who can shoot near 40% and takes 7 to 8 threes per game. Adding a lethal shooter like Buddy Hield or Bojan Bogdanovic could be the missing piece.

The Lakers essentially need a high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter as fifth starter next to LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Cam Reddish and either D’Angelo Russell or Gabe Vincent. Someone like Bojan Bogdanovic.

The Lakers’ Zach LaVine trade will not end up like the Russell Westbrook trade because LaVine’s a better player and fit than Russ and L.A. won’t agree to any deal unless Chicago’s appropriately desperate to dump Zach.

Two years ago, the Lakers traded Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and the 22 pick in 2021 draft to the Washington Wizards for Russell Westbrook and their 2024 and 2028 second round picks.
Essentially, the Lakers gave up two starters, one backup, and one first round pick for Westbrook and two second round picks. While L.A. missed Kuzma and KCP, the core issue with the trade was Westbrook’s poor fit.

Ultimately, the decision to trade for Zach LaVine will depend on whether the Lakers believe he is the right fit for what they need and whether the Bulls are willing to accept the players and draft capital being offered.
Right now, it appears the Bulls’ first priority is dumping LaVine before other pieces and it appears the Lakers are interested but only at the right price, which makes sense considering the Bulls don’t have other options.

Pelinka’s done a great job rebuilding Lakers after the Westbrook disaster and has the team well positioned with tradable players on team friendly contracts and a post-LeBron pick just waiting for opportunity to knock.
The Lakers don’t have player chips or draft capital to trade for a legitimate superstar like Doncic or Jokic so they must be realistically opportunistic when a struggling team like the Bulls needs to dump LaVine’s huge salary.

Let’s take a deeper dive into why Zach LaVine is a better player and fit for the Lakers than Russell Westbrook, what an acceptable Lakers/Bulls trade would look like, and how good the Lakers’ roster and rotation would be.

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Zach LaVine Is Not Russell Westbrook

Let’s start with the obvious: Zach LaVine is not Russell Westbrook, whose poor ball shot selection, inane ball security, and abysmal shooting made him a terrible fit next to superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Four years younger than Russ was when traded to L.A., the 28-year old LaVine is a better fit as a third star on the Lakers than Russ was because his elite 3-point shooting gravity could unleash superstars James and Davis.
Zach LaVine gives the Lakers an All-Star shooting guard who can give the starting lineup 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game to make the team less dependent on soon-to-be 39-years old superstar LeBron James.

LaVine’s a career 38.2% high-volume 3-point shooter who averaged over 37.5% on 7 to 8 attempts per game over last four seasons before getting off to a slow start this season and shooting just 33.6% from deep.
The Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis desperately need an elite high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter whom teams have to defend who can create space for James and Davis to attack the rim.

Unlike Westbrook, LaVine possesses the right shooting, playmaking, and rebounding skills to fit in as the Lakers’ third star with James and Davis and then move on as the second star with Davis when James eventually retires. Fortunately for the Lakers, they already probably know what LaVine is willing to do to fit in with the Lakers because of their close relationship with Klutch Sports Group, who’re the agents for James, Davis, and LaVine.

A Lakers trade for LaVine was predicted when Zach signed with Klutch Sports Group in 2021. With the right mindset and mentality, Zach could become the uber-athletic long-range assassin the Lakers have long coveted

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An Acceptable Lakers/Bulls Trade

The trade Lakers’ reporter Eric Pincus thinks is ‘most practical’ for the Lakers sends D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and a lightly protected 2029 first round draft pick to the Bulls for Zach LaVine.

What makes the trade work for the Lakers despite LaVine’s $40.0 million salary this season and the $178.1 million remaining on his 4-year contract, is they’re only giving up two rotation players and one first round pick.
Because of the size of LaVine’s contract and lack of competing teams, the Lakers shouldn’t be willing to give up Austin Reaves or include pick swaps. If they need a sweetener, include Max Christie and a couple of seconds.

Giving up just two rotation players means the Lakers will lose a net of one rotation player when they trade Zach LaVine for rotation players D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura plus non-rotation players Hood-Schifino.
That would let L.A. retain a deep 11-man rotation with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Zach LaVine, Austin Reaves, Cam Reddish, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Taurean Prince, Christian Wood, and Jaxson Hayes.

Strategically, the Lakers know there will be a risk trading for LaVine. The money could seriously limit future options. LaVine’s also injury prone like James and Davis and he could run into problems fitting with the Lakers. Hopefully, salary cap increases will normalize Zach’s contract, he and the rest of the team will remain healthy, and the fit with the Lakers will be seamless and complement and unleash LeBron and AD to be their best.

Zach LaVine is not Russell Westbrook. If the Bulls are willing to trade Zach LaVine for D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and a 2029 first round pick, that’s an gamble the Lakers should not pass up.

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Post-Trade Starting Lineup & Rotation

The key to a successful trade for Zach LaVine is the Lakers ending up with a dramatically upgraded starting lineup and still being able to field a deep and diverse 10 or 11-man rotation despite paying for three max superstars.

A Lakers’ starting lineup with LeBron James at point guard, Zach LaVine at shooting guard, Cam Reddish at small forward, Jarred Vanderbilt at power forward, and Anthony Davis at center could be among the best in the NBA.
James, Davis, and LaVine give the Lakers’ starting lineup a trio of lethal offensive weapons while Reddish and Vanderbilt give them a duo of lock-down point-of-attack defenders to throw at opposing teams’ backcourts.

Bench depth and diversity matter. Post-trade, the Lakers primary backups would be Gabe Vincent at the one, Austin Reaves at the two, Taurean Prince at the three, Christian Wood at the four, and Jaxson Hayes at the five.
The Lakers would also have Max Christie, who at best could work his way into the rotation and at worst be insurance in case some player got injured, and they have an edge over other contenders in signing buyout candidates.

If there’s concern about the Lakers’ post-trade roster, it’s that the Lakers have four key players in Reddish, Prince, Wood, and Hayes for whom they don’t have Bird rights and could easily lose to free agency next summer. Fortunately, the Lakers have developed a reputation as the best landing spot for struggling free agents looking to redeem their games and brands playing with James and Davis under the bright lights of Los Angeles.

Zach LaVine is a better fit as a third star for the Los Angeles Lakers than Russell Westbrook was because he’s a career 38.2% 3-point shooter whose 4 rebounds and assists per game would reduce dependence on LeBron James

No gesture says more about on-court domination without a technical for taunting than offensive players making the ‘too small’ gesture after taking advantage of their size and length to easily score on a smaller defender.

While the Lakers hope to improve their 3-point shooting, their strength is their ability to win the points-in-paint (PIP) and made-free-throws (MFT) battles by more than they lose their negative 3-point shooting differential.
That’s the formula the Lakers used to make the conference finals last season after a poor 2–10 start but have struggled to execute this year until they went big and started 6′ 8″ Cam Reddish at shooting guard for 6 games.

Before the inserting Reddish in the starting lineup for Reaves, the Lakers were generating only +9.9 points per game from PIP and MFT, which did not cover their -12.0 points per game negative 3-point shooting differential.
With Reddish starting at shooting guard for 6 games, the Lakers outscored their opponents by +15.8 points per game from PIP and MFT, which easily was enough to beat the -10.5 points per game 3-point shooting differential.

The Lakers under Rob Pelinka and Darvin Ham have a unique opportunity to build a deep, talented, defense-first roster that possesses legitimate, actionable size, length, and physicality advantages at all five positions.
Pundits have long visualized the ‘ultimate’ NBA starting lineup as five 6′ 8″ to 6′ 10″ long, athletic players who could dominate the paint and glass at both ends. That may be exactly what Ham and the Lakers are trying to do.

Here are the three roster moves Lakers’ coach Darvin Ham needs to make to create a Lakers’ version of the ‘ultimate’ starting lineup that possesses dominating size, length, and physicality advantages at all five positions.

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1st Move — Start Jarred Vanderbilt Next to Cam Reddish

The first move Ham should make to improve the Lakers’ positional size is starting 6′ 9″ Jarred Vanderbilt at the three once healthy and pairing him with 6′ 8″ Cam Reddish to create a starting duo of elite wing defenders.

While Vando’s been approved to begin physical contact and ramping up to return to the team’s rotation, there’s a growing consensus he will replace Taurean Prince as the starting small forward sometime in the near future.
With Cam Reddish starting at shooting guard and Jarred Vanderbilt at small forward, the Lakers would essentially have two elite wing starters with the size and length to ably defend opposing high-scoring guards and forwards.

Starting 6′ 8″ Reddish and 6′ 9″ Vanderbilt would represent Darvin Ham and the Los Angeles Lakers doubling down on their identity as a defense-first team who dominates paint and glass with elite positional size and length. While there’ll be pressure on Reddish and Vanderbilt to be able to shoot a respectable percentage from three, both should be able to take advantage of their superior size and length to dominate smaller defenders offensively.

Turning Reddish and Vanderbilt into an elite point-of-attack perimeter defensive pair who can slow down the bigger high-scoring guards and wings that dominate the West is a championship development for L.A.
Cam and Vando give the Lakers a defensive duo to match up with the top offensive duos in the league like the Mavs’ Luka and Kyrie, Suns’ Booker and KD, Warriors’ Steph and Klay, or Pacers’ Haliburton and Mathurin.

The Lakers are excited about the idea of having their two best perimeter defenders in their starting lineup alongside Anthony Davis. It’s a huge move that doubles down on their identity for defense and physicality.

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2nd Move — Start LeBron James at Point Guard

Starting Cam Reddish and Jarred Vanderbilt gives the Lakers positional size advantages at shooting guard and small forward and also opens a unique opportunity for the Lakers to go big at point guard with 6′ 8″ LeBron James.

The only reason the Lakers don’t start James at the point guard is they don’t want him defending smaller and quicker point guards, an objection that’s easily eliminated by having Reddish or Vando defend the opposing guards. While many Laker lineups already have LeBron playing point on offense and small or power forward on defense, the next step is embracing starting James at point guard to create positional size advantage at that position.

The NBA is a guard and wing driven league and most offensive firepower is focused on the point guard, shooting guard, and small forward positions since they play on on the perimeter and have the ball in their hands more. Few NBA teams have high-powered scorers at all three of these positions, which mean the Lakers could have Reddish and Vanderbilt defend the opponent’s two best scorers while James defends their weakest scorer.

Starting 6′ 8″ LeBron James at the one, 6′ 8″ Cam Reddish at the two, and 6′ 9″ Jarred Vanderbilt at the three would give the Lakers an advantage in perimeter size, length, and athleticism for all three positions at both ends.
The James/Reddish/Vanderbilt starting lineup could force opposing teams to go big or risk being dominated by Lakers’ size, length, and athleticism. Teams could find it hard to score upon or stop this lineup from scoring.

While the Lakers have been trying for three years to reduce the playmaking workload on LeBron James, the smartest thing the Lakers could do right now could be to go super big and start 6′ 8″ LeBron James at point guard.

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3rd Move — Start Christian Wood Next to Anthony Davis

Now that L.A. has gone big at both the guards and small forward positions, Darvin Ham needs to finish the big starting lineup makeover by moving Anthony Davis to power forward and starting Christian Wood at center.

Moving LeBron James to point guard, opens up a starting spot to pair a second big with Anthony Davis. Because Reddish and Vanderbilt are not proven dead-eye 3-point shooters, the Lakers need a stretch second big.
The two candidates with the size and length and 3-point shooting gravity to be the Lakers’ second big are 6′ 8″ Christian Wood and Rui Hachimura. Wood has produced the 2nd best plus/minus on the team and is best fit.

Christian Wood also has a team best +7.6 NetRtg playing next to Anthony Davis. Much of the team’s success early in the season was the result of complementary two-bigs lineups with Chris Wood and Anthony Davis.
Wood is also part of four of the five top rated Lakers’ five-man lineups that have played together for more than 10 minutes this season. The stats and the eye test both say Christian as the ideal second big to play with AD.

As the Lakers approach December 15, there’s also a chance Pelinka will trade some of the Lakers 12-deep roster to upgrade their 10-man rotation and improve their chances of finally winning their 18th championship.
Pelinka will certainly be watching how the Pacers, Timberwolves, and Jazz do since Myles Turner, Karl-Anthony Towns, or Lauri Markkanen would be perfect upgrades over Christian Wood, whom L.A. will lose to free agency.

Wood’s ability to shoot from all three levels creates spacing for Davis to offensively dominate in the paint and at the rim while his elite length and mobility enable him both to protect the rim and switch on the perimeter.

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Why Lakers’ Super Big Lineup Could Be Juggernaut

The Lakers’ super big starting lineup boasts five tall, long, and athletic players from 6′ 8″ and 6′ 10″ with wingspans greater than 7′ whose size and length advantages can dominate the paint and glass at all five positions.

What the Lakers super big lineup provides is three difference-making enhancements over the team’s current starting lineup: LeBron James playing point guard, two elite wing defenders, two elite big scorers.
Each improvement alone represents a major upgrade of the Lakers’ starting lineup. Combined, they represent a transformation that could turn the Lakers new super big starting lineup a juggernaut at both ends.

Remember when LeBron James kept telling Darvin Ham that he could play the point? With Cam and Vando defending the opposing team’s best guards and wings, the Lakers can literally unleash LeBron James to play the one. Surrounding James with elite 3-point shooters was the old school solution to optimizing the King. The Lakers’ new school path to optimizing LeBron is surrounding him with championship size, length, and athleticism.

Offensively, the Lakers’ super big starting lineup will be heavily dependent upon LeBron James’ and Christian Wood’s 3-point shooting but should be totally dominant when it comes to winning the key PIP and MFT battles. Defensively, teams are going to find it very difficult to score on the Lakers’ new super big lineup, whose size, length, and physicality is going to shrink the court and make it very difficult for offenses to create spacing to shoot.

The Lakers have a unique opportunity to create a championship caliber super big starting lineup with five 6′ 8″ to 6′ 10″ players who would have size, length, and physicality advantages at all five positions on the court.

Since Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham started Cam Reddish instead of Austin Reaves, the Los Angeles Lakers have won 4 of their last 5 games to turn a worrisome 3–5 start into a 7–6 record and 7th place in the West.

Ham’s moves not only put to bed any concerns the Lakers were going to suffer a repeat of last season’s disastrous 2–10 start but also rekindled early optimism L.A. could legitimately compete with a healthy James and Davis.
Right now, the Los Angeles Lakers have the 5th best odds to win the 2024 NBA championship, trailing the Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Phoenix Suns and slightly ahead of the Golden State Warriors.

Still waiting for two key rotation players in Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent to return from injuries, the Lakers have 7 more games left this month until the 20-game quarter pole in the long 82-game NBA season.
The Lakers need to go at least 5–2 over these next 7 games to finish the first fourth of the season with a 12–8 record, which would give them a 60% win percentage, likely good enough to move into top-6 West playoff teams.

Let’s take a look at how Darvin Ham’s moves with Cam Reddish and Austin Reaves refocused the Lakers offensively and defensively and turned around what had the potential to become a second straight disastrous season start.

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How Darvin Ham’s Moves Turned Lakers’ Season Around

Since starting Reddish and benching Reaves, the Lakers have been a different team, winning 4 of their last 5 games and turning a rough 3–5 start into a 7–6 record and 7th place in the Western Conference.

There’s no question pressure was starting to mount on second year Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham not to allow the team to get off to a second straight disastrous start to the season as the 3–5 Lakers were 11th place in the West.
While a change in starters was expected, Ham opted to start Cam Reddish and move Austin Reaves to the bench, a move that surprised everybody as most anticipated Russell, not Reaves, being the player to go to the bench.

Before swapping Reddish and Reaves, the Lakers 106.6 Offrtg was 28th, their 113.8 Defrtg 19th, and their -7.2 Netrtg 27th out of 30 NBA teams. That changed once Ham started Reddish and moved Reaves to the bench.
Suddenly, the Lakers played dramatically better at both ends of the court. In the 5 games since the change, the Lakers 117.1 Offrtg was 11th, their 110.5 Defrtg 8th, and their +6.6 Netrtg 8th out of 30 teams in league.

Over this 5-game stretch, the Lakers’ 51.3% FG% ranked 2nd, their 43.9% 3P% ranked 1st, their 36.2 Drb/gm 2nd, their 8.8 Stl/gm 8th, their 6.6 Blk/gm 2nd, their 27.2 FTA/gm 5th, and their +6.6 Plus/Minus 8th.
The biggest impact of the change, however, could be how it unleashed LeBron James, whose team-best 124.9 Offrtg, 109.9 Defrtg, and team-best +15.1 Netrtg were the Lakers’ difference maker the last 5 games.

Bottom line, Ham’s move to go big at shooting guard by starting Reddish and keeping Russell at point while moving Reaves to the bench as team’s sixth man refocused the Lakers on winning offensively and defensively.

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How Reddish Starting Revitalized Lakers’ Starting Lineup

Since becoming a starter 5 games ago, Cam Reddish has averaged 13.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 2.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 30.6 minutes per game with a +6.8 plus/minus, second best to only LeBron James’ +8.8.

Ham’s decision to start Cam Reddish at shooting guard, a position he hadn’t played since the first two of his four years in the league, was a major reason why the Lakers suddenly began playing better at both ends of the court.
His 2.8 steals per game was 4th best in the league during the last 5 games and showcased how Cam’s 6′ 8″ height and 7′ 1″ wingspan and aggressive point-of-attack defense suddenly transformed the Lakers’ backcourt.

But Cam Reddish’s impact was not just limited to the defensive side of the ball. Over the past 5 games, Cam scored the 4th most points with shooting splits of 53.3% from the field, 52.2% from deep, and 81.8% from the line.
He showed he could not only score from all three levels but do so with athleticism and efficiency. During the last 5 games, Reddish posted a high 118.1 Offrtg, low 107.0 Defrtg, and team second best +11.1 Netrtg.

Ham’s trust and belief in Reddish has both given Cam an opportunity he just didn’t have or wasn’t ready to take advantage of with previous teams. Darvin Ham desperately needed to a spark and starting Reddish lit a fire.
It also previewed a bigger and better defensive starting lineup that could prevent the Lakers from always losing the first quarter and falling behind by double digits and restore their paint points and free throw dominance.

While many Lakers analysts see him as merely a placeholder in the starting lineup for the injured Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish shows solid signs that he should be the long-term starter and Taurean Prince the placeholder.

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How Reaves Playing Sixth Man Revitalized Lakers’ Bench

The move by Lakers’ coach Darvin Ham to move young Austin Reaves to the bench as the team’s sixth man was designed to give the starting lineup more size and defense and the bench better shooting and playmaking.

Before moving to the bench, Austin was averaging 13.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in 32.0 minutes per game while shooting 41.6% from the field, 27.8% from deep, and 80.8% from the free throw line.
Since coming off the bench the last 5 games, Reaves has averaged 13.0 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in 28.9 minute per game while shooting 47.8% from the field, 47.1% from deep, and 81.3% from the line.

There were a lot of reasons why Darvin Ham was smart to move Austin Reaves to the bench rather than D’Angelo Russell, who might not have accepted the move with the right spirit, including getting him going.
Before Reaves went to the bench, the Lakers were averaging 24.3 bench points per game. After moving Austin to the bench, the Lakers raised their bench points per game to 31.4, which ranked 20th among 30 NBA teams.

Whether Reaves continues to come off the bench will depend on what the Lakers do at the trade deadline. The Lakers are currently looking at the possibility of trading for Chicago Bulls superstar two guard Zach LaVine. Should the Lakers trade for LaVine, their package would likely include D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, and Jalen Hood-Schifino to match salaries and the Lakers lightly protected 2029 first round pick.

In that scenario, the Austin Reaves could conceivable become the starting point guard in an upgraded Lakers’ backcourt with Zach LaVine. Bottom line, Austin Reaves move to the bench could end up being just temporary.