Lakerholics

The crew from Lakerholics and Joe Soro from Lakersball picked their top 10 All-Time Lakers (which you can hear and see above) but we want to hear from YOU with your lists so please list them out on the comments below and we can give you and your list a shout out on the program!

While training camp and preseason can always lead to surprises, a careful review of the moves the Lakers have made and the roster they have built reveals clues to which players are likely to start and be part of the rotation.

To start with, the Lakers now have a legitimate superstar big three with Russell Westbrook joining LeBron James and Anthony Davis. So let’s begin by pencilling in all three of the Lakers’ superstars to open and close halves. The question is how will the Lakers fill the other two starting spots? Will they start and close with two elite 3-point shooters like Nunn and Ellington or a traditional low post center like Howard or Jordan and just one shooter?

Once the starting lineup is fixed, the Lakers need to figure out what their rotations will be. One key rotation will be putting together a linup that can win the twelve to fourteen minutes per game LeBron is not on the court. During the two years James has played for the Lakers, they have never had a positive plus/minus when LeBron was off the court. Finding a winning rotation powered by Davis and Russell should be the top rotation priority.

Here are four lineups Lakers’ head coach Frank Vogel should include in his rotations: Lakers’ Starting Lineup, LeBron at the Five Lineup, LeBron on the Bench Lineup, and Switch Everything Lineup for closing out games.

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1. LAKERS’ STARTING LINEUP

Creating a starting lineup for the Lakers begins with deciding who starts at center: Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, or DeAndre Jordan? The small ball linup that won you a championship or the McGee minutes eating plan?

When you review the Lakers options at starting center, it’s obvious Anthony Davis is a more attractive option than the older Dwight Howard or DeAndre Jordan, who are no longer in their prime as shot blockers and/or dunkers. While AD prefers to play the five instead of four, he agreed to spend more time at the five in the regular season if Russ played the one so the Lakers could include two elite volume 3-point shooters in their starting lineup.

Pelinka did a great job making the Westbrook trade viable by adding six proven 3-point shooters to the roster: sharpshooters like Kendrick Nunn, Wayne Ellington, Malik Monk, Kent Bazemore, and Carmelo Anthony. Picking the best two high volume, high percentage 3-point shooters on the Lakers is easy. It’s Wayne Ellington, who averaged 6.0 threes per game at 42.2% and Kendrick Nunn, who averaged 5.7 threes per game at 38.1%.

The above starting lineup is basically this season’s version of the small ball lineup with AD at center the Lakers used to win the 2020 championship. Three superstars and two high volume, high percentage 3-point shooters.

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2. LEBRON AT THE FIVE LINEUP

One of the lineups we’re going to see a lot this season is a small ball lineup with LeBron James at center, Rajon Rondo at point guard, plus three high volume, high percentage 3-point shooters to create spacing.

That’s right: LeBron James at the five. We saw glimpses of this last year in the playoffs and this year in the regular season, when the Lakers posted up LeBron, who destroyed whichever player had to guard him in the post. Whether defended by a big or a wing, LeBron has the power moves and bully ball mentality to destroy defenses and either score the ball or find a wide open 3-point shooter or cutter slashing towards the rim.

The LeBron at the five lineup opens the door for the Lakers to give minutes to other 3-point shooters Pelinka signed like Carmelo Anthony and Malik Monk and invaluable players like Rajon Rondo and Talen Horton-Tucker. This is a lineup that should allow LeBron to shine as both a scorer and playmaker. Rondo is a genius at getting the ball to LeBron in the places where he is essentially unstoppable. This lineup will unleash LeBron.

Teams easily forget that the Lakers have two superstars who are capable of playing multiple positions including small ball center. The LeBron at the five lineup will be the Lakers surprise for teams who want make them play small.

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3. LEBRON ON THE BENCH LINEUP

The Lakers’ Achilles Heel the last two seasons has been the minutes when LeBron James was on the bench. One of Vogel’s top priorities is to create a LeBron on the bench lineup that can win the minutes when James rests.

Building that lineup has to start with Westbrook and Davis, the Lakers’ other two superstars. Include the team’s best 3-point shooters in Ellington and Nunn and add Howard for defense and rebounding to create a dope lineup. Last season, the Lakers were a +12.8 points with LeBron on the floor and a -1.2 points with him off the floor. Even during the championship run, the Lakers were unable to generate a postive net rating without LeBron.

Thus, the LeBron on the bench lineup has the most potential of any of the Lakers’ lineups to make a dramatic turn around to become a positive rather than a negative factor when it comes to winning the non-LeBron minutes. Crafting a lineup with superstars in Russ and AD, elite 3-point shooters in Ellington and Nunn, and a proven shot blocker, rim protector, and rebounder like Howard gives the Lakers a powerhouse non-LeBron lineup.

Turning the Lakers biggest negative lineup into one of its best could be a difference-maker in the Lakers quest for their 18th championship. It’s also one of the massive benefits of having three rather than two superstars.

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4. SWITCH EVERYTHING LINEUP

The key to creating a lineup to close games is defense. James, Davis, and Westbrook are all plus defenders. To create the best closing lineup, all we need to do is add our best two perimeter defenders.

The best two perimeter defenders on the Lakers are Kent Bazemore and Trevor Ariza, both of whom are proven 3&D players who can shoot the three and play elite defense against other teams’ best guards or wings. Most importantly, this would give the Lakers a lineup of players with the talent and versatility to defend multiple positions and switch everything, which is the strategy the Lakers should deploy to close out halves and games.

Switching everything requires players with elite individual ability and tough mentality to switch on all screens. It’s a tactic that makes consummate sense considering how efficient and deadly offensive players are in today’s game. With an AD and LeBron front court, a point guard in Russ who can defend bigs, and two elite veteran perimeter defenders in Bazemore and Ariza, the Lakers can roll out a closing lineup as lethal as the Warriors Death Lineup.

The Lakers know that defense wins championships. While most expect the Lakers to make a huge leap offenseively, there’s a good chance they might be able to do the same defensively with Anthony Davis now playing the five.

After signing DeAndre Jordan and trading Marc Gasol, the Lakers are faced with a major potential season-defining decision whether to finally start Anthony Davis at the five or one of a pair of washed career backup centers.

Now that smoke is clearing, Jordan has been signed, and Gasol traded, who will start at center for the Lakers becomes the big question. Do the Lakers start Howard or Jordan like McGee in their 2019–20 championship run? Many observers believe replacing Gasol with Jordan signals the Lakers are going to reprise the center strategy from their championship run in 2020 and have Howard or Jordan start games and second halves like McGee.

Personally, I believe the Lakers’ decision to replace Gasol with Jordan had more to do with their strategy to have elite shot blockers at center all game rather than simply trying to replicate their championship center rotation. For me, the trades to bring in Russell Westbrook and move Marc Gasol confirm the news before free agency that Anthony Davis was willing to start and play major minutes at the five to make room to start two shooters.

This will all be resolved in training camp, which starts on September 28th, and preseason games, which begin October 3rd. So let’s take a look at the Lakers’ three options to start at center when the new season kicks off:

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1. THE LAKERS START DEANDRE JORDEN AT CENTER

While there’s been Twitter chatter the Lakers might start Jordan, the idea they would start a player who was just waived by their major rival in the East whose value is now the league minimum seems like a long shot at best.

We’re not talking about the 2015–18 DeAndre Jordan who made 1st team All-NBA once, 2nd team All-NBA twice, and 2nd team All-Defensive once. We’re talking about the 32-year old version who couldn’t start for the Nets. Gone are the ‘Lob City’ days of 2.5 blocks per game, 1.0 steals per game, and 250 dunks per season. Today’s DeAndre Jordan would be lucky to average 1.5 blocks, 0.5 steals per game, and 100 dunks for the season.

The big problem with having DeAndre Jordan play JaVale McGee’s role as the team’s starting center for the first six to eight minutes of each half is it uses one of the critical two starting spots available for elite 3-point shooters. Since James, Davis, or Westbrook, are not high percentage 3-point shooters, the Lakers logical move would be to dedicate the two empty starting slots alongside of their three superstars to proven veteran 3-point shooters.

DeAndre Jordan would have to show the Lakers that he still was the vertical force on offense and defense as he was in his prime to be seriously considered as the Lakers’ starting center when the 2021–22 season starts.

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2. THE LAKERS START DWIGHT HOWARD AT CENTER

Frankly, the arguments against starting Dwight Howard at center are the same as those against starting DeAndre Jordan. They limit the number of 3-point shooters the Lakers can play to create spacing for their superstars.

Like with DeAndre Jordan, the version of Dwight Howard the Lakers will get this season is nowhere near the superstar center who was 1st team All-NBA five times from 2008-2012 and the DPOY three times from 2009–2012. While Dwight was ultimately played off the floor in the Lakers’ bubble championship run, he still was an important defensive factor against Nikola Jokic as the Lakers dominated the Denver Nuggets in five games.

There’s no question having JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard eat up minutes at center allowed Anthony Davis to spend 60% of his time at his preferred power forward position to avoid the physicality of playing center. Frankly, it doesn’t make sense for the Lakers to copy that strategy now that they have Westbrook playing at the one and desperately need 3-point shooters on the floor when LeBron, AD, and Russ play together.

The expectation is Dwight Howard, who’s already familiar with the Lakers’ offensive and defensive strategies, is a better fit for the Los Angeles’ center rotation and will be the primary backup at center over DeAndre Jordan.

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3. THE LAKERS START ANTHONY DAVIS AT CENTER

The fact that the Lakers are heading into training camp with just DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard as the only two centers on the roster is clear cut evidence Anthony Davis is going to be playing major minutes at center.

The Lakers finished last season with three centers — Andre Drummond, Marc Gasol, and Montrezl Harrell — on the roster besides Anthony Davis. That led to Davis playing center 10% in regular season and 20% in playoffs. That was a strategy that backfired badly as none of the Lakers’ three centers were able to protect the rim defensively or provide a lethal vertical threat offensively. As a result, the Lakers did not bring back any of those centers.

Instead, the Lakers prioritized bringing in a ‘difference-making playmaker’ in Russell Westbrook, which exacerbated the team’s desperate need for better 3-point shooting but also gave Los Angeles the third superstar they coveted. The seeds for the Westbrook trade had been planted during a meeting between LeBron, AD, and Russ at James home in Los Angeles where all three superstars agreed to make sacrifices to make the Superstar Big Three work.

Anthony Davis supposedly agreed during that meeting that he would play a lot more at center in order to enable the Lakers to play two volume 3-point shooters to create spacing alongside their trio of rim attacking superstars.

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4. DOES IT REALLY MATTER WHO STARTS AT CENTER?

Aside from AD’s claims that playing center makes him prone to injuries, the other criticism from those who want to start Dwight Howard or DeAndre Jordan instead of Davis at center is it simply does not matter in the end.

They point to the fact the Lakers’ starting lineups the last two years did not include Anthony Davis but still posted their best 5-man lineup net ratings. The McGee and Gasol starting lineups had superior 12.6 and 13.2 net ratings. The argument we won a championship with McGee as the starting center is compelling but ignores differences in the composition of the Lakers’ roster as well as changes in the quality of competition to be faced.

While starting DeAndre Jordan or Dwight Howard at center could work during the regular season since the Lakers with LeBron, AD, and Russ are likely to be a juggernaut, it clearly will have to change come the playoffs. Frankly, having to change starting lineups and style of play for postseason is one of the main arguments to start Anthony Davis all of the time. In other words, use the regular season to practice what you will do in the playoffs.

The Nets’ Big Three has raised the bar to win a championship and the Lakers need to start their best five players on the court from the opening tip. They cannot be deceived by thinking who starts doesn’t matter. It does.

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While training camp and preseason should provide more information about the Lakers center rotation plans, the moves the Lakers have made and the roster they have built seemingly point to Anthony Davis starting at center.

Since teams already pack the paint to prevent LeBron James and Anthony Davis from getting to the rim, rolling out a starting lineup with only one quality 3-point shooter would be playing right into the defense’s hands. LeBron, AD, and Russ are all subpar 3-point shooters, which means the Lakers’ top priority in creating their starting lineup and rotations is to make sure to always have at least two elite 3-point shooters on the floor.

The only way the Lakers can achieve that goal when they play all three of their superstars is to have Anthony Davis play center so they can dedicate the shooting guard and small forward position to proven 3-point shooters.

After an injury plagued season, dismal first round exit, and 24th worst offensive rating, the Lakers revamped their entire roster in an extreme makeover to transform their offense into a potentially lethal juggernaut.

Aside from superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, 20-year old guard Talen Horton-Tucker appears to be the only other player the Lakers are bringing back from their 2020–21 roster, assuming Marc Gasol’s also gone. The extreme makeover confirms the Lakers didn’t believe they could win with last year’s roster or that they had enough offensive firepower to keep up with the emerging superteam the Brooklyn Nets have put together.

While the Lakers may have ignored players from last year’s roster, they were not afraid to bring back several key players from their bubble championship team, including star point guard Rajon Rondo and center Dwight Howard. They also didn’t hesitate to dip into their own history and bring back several former Lakers players who are excellent fits for what the they need right now, including veterans Kent Bazemore, Wayne Ellington, and Trevor Ariza.

The Lakers upgraded six offensive areas in their makeover: volume 3-point shooting, better playmaking, more lobs and dunks at the rim, enhanced offensive rebounding, faster transition offense, and more shot creators.

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1. PLAYMAKING TO FREE LEBRON TO PLAY OFF THE BALL

The Lakers number one goal this offseason was to find a ‘difference-making playmaker’ so LeBron James could evolve from the team’s defacto point guard and to full-time power forward to save energy and extend his career.

The mega trade for Russell Westbrook opened the door for the Lakers to add a legitimate third superstar, something that’s extremely valuable over a long season and empowers them to matchup better against the Brooklyn Nets. Most importantly, the trade allows the Lakers to finally move LeBron James to the four and Anthony Davis to the five, the positions at which they play the best and the team’s lineups excel both offensively and defensively.

While Westbrook exacerbates rather than helps solve the Lakers need for more and better 3-point shooting, the opportunity to add a dynamic third superstar who averages a triple-double like he does could not be passed up. What Russ brings in the form of relentlessness, energy, and explosivelness at both ends more than offsets the additional pressure he brings for more high volume, high percentage 3-point shooting to create spacing.

Re-signing Rajon Rondo, third best player in their championship run in the bubble, completes the Lakers’ plan to upgrade team playmaking not only to reduce the workload on LeBron but also to win the minutes when he rests.

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2. VOLUME 3-POINT SHOOTING TO CREATE SPACING

Once the Lakers decided to go all in on a third superstar by trading for Russell Westbrook, Rob Pelinka’s focus immediately shifted to looking for high volume, high percentage 3-point shooters to create spacing.

Assuming Westbrook would play the one, James the four, and Davis the five, Pelinka focused on adding players who could play both the two and three, assuming those were the positions to dedicate to volume 3-point shooters. The Lakers signed six tested and proven veteran 3-point shooters who could play the two or three and who take a high volume of threes and make them at a high percentage to create spacing to unleash their three superstars.

The Lakers’ new corps of 3-point sharpshooters includes Wayne Ellington, who shot 42.2% on 6.0 threes per game, Kendrick Nunn, who shot 38.1% on 5.7 threes per game, and Malik Monk, who shot 40.1 on 5.0 threes per game. Other 3-point shooters include Carmelo Anthony, who shot 40.9% on 4.7 threes per game, Trevor Ariza, who shot 35.0% on 4.8 threes per game, and Kent Bazemore, who shot 40.8 on 2.7 threes per game.

With three superstars who are subpar 3-point shooters, the Lakers are not going to suddenly become a top-ten 3-point shooting team but they have the players to take and make a lot more threes than the last two years.

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3. VERTICAL GRAVITY OFF LOBS AND DUNKS AT THE RIM

The Lakers attempted to upgrade their offense after winning their 17th championship by replacing traditional low post centers JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard with offensive centers Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell.

Unfortunately, that move undermined the Lakers’ rim protection and also reduced the number of dunks at the rim by all of their centers, including Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol, Montrezl Harrell, and Andre Drummond. During their championship season, the Lakers led the league with 528 dunks. Last year, they had only 342 dunks, which represented a 35% decrease or 186 fewer dunks even though they carried four different centers on the roster.

While there’s no discernable proof that teams who dunk more win more, the Lakers strongly believe their dominating front court, demoralizing dunks, and physical bully ball style of play were part of their championship puzzle. Dwight Howard’s return, DeAndre Jordan’s signing, LeBron James’ move to power forward, and Anthony Davis’ increased minutes at center should all contribute to the Lakers bouncing back and leading the league in dunks.

The Lakers are clearly reverting back to the bully ball and physical play formula that won their bubble championship. They intend to lead and intimidate the league in blocked shots a dunks thrown down a the rim.

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4. OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING AND DOMINATING THE GLASS

Just as the loss of McGee and Howard resulted in less rim protection on defense and vertical gravity on offense, the Lakers’ offensive rebounding stats declined with Gasol, Harrell, and Drummond at center last season.

During their championship run, the Lakers were 7th in the league in offensive rebounding with 10.7 offensive boards per game. Last season, with a new center corps, they fell to 17th with 9.7 offensive boards per game. With LeBron at the four and AD at the five and two backup centers in Howard and Jordan who have histories of being aggressive rebounders, the Lakers should be ready for a big bounce back in offensive rebounds.

Dominating the glass offensively can be demoralizing as a team can play great defense for 24 seconds only to see their opponent grab an offensive rebound and get another 14 seconds to attack the defense and try to score. Dominating the glass defensively is the key to the Lakers’ ability to score in transition offense as teams need the ball in order to run. The Lakers’ fast break starts with somebody on the team grabbing the ball and running.

The Lakers’ goal is to dominate the glass at both ends of the court, grabbing defensive rebounds to trigger transition fast breaks on offense and snagging offensive rebounds to generate second chance points on defense.

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5. LEAGUE LEADING TRANSITION AND EARLY OFFENSE

During the 2019–20 championship season, the Lakers played at a 101.20 pace, which was the 7th best pace in the NBA that year. Last season, the Lakers pace dropped to 98.85, 21st out of the 30 teams in the league.

The single biggest change the Lakers will experience this season after trading for triple-double point guru Russell Westbrook is a dramatic increase in the team’s pace and points in transition or early offense opportunities. Last season, Westbrook posted a triple-double of 22.2 points, 11.5 boards, and 11.7 assists in 36.4 minutes per game with a league. With his relentless energy, Russ led the run-and-gun Wizards to a league best pace of 104.67.

Besides playing at a faster than normal pace, the Lakers have been one of the most efficient transition teams, scoring on a 3rd best 52.9% of chances last season and on a 4th best 52.2% of chances in their championship run. The addition of Westbrook should only add to the Lakers’ efficiency in creating transition and early offense opportunities. No NBA team can match the Lakers fast break. They will literally reprise their Showtime days.

The Lakers should lead the NBA in transition opportunities and execution with elite fast break playmakers like Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo, and LeBron James attacking the rim, dishing out dimes, and finishing dunks.

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6. MULTIPLE SCORERS WHO CAN GET THEIR OWN SHOT

The final area of offense the Lakers dramatically upgraded this offseason was adding proven big time scorers other than LeBron and AD capable of getting their own shots off the bounce when games were on the line.

Heading that list of players who could get their own high quality shot when needed are Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook, two veteran scorers with a history of being able to get points for their teams down the stretch. Russ finished with 76.3% of his points scored in isolation and Melo with an 51.7% of his points in isolation. Both are proven veteran scorers with moves and handles to create high quality shots for themselves when needed.

Having two additional stars who are comfortable being isolated with the ball and able to create shots for themselves besides LeBron, AD, and Russ makes the Lakers offense much more dangerous and unpredictable. Teams won’t be able to double LeBron or AD like they were the last two years since they will have to respect Russ’ and Melo’s ability to beat their man off the dribble and create a high quality shot to close out games.

The addition of Russ and Melo have given the Lakers two more star scorers for teams to fear down the stretch of games besides James and Davis. It will be interesting to see whom the Lakers close games with this season.

Forget the doubters and haters who claim the Lakers made a big mistake trading for Russell Westbrook to replace Dennis Schroder as the team’s starting point guard because Russ’ subpar outside shooting is a poor fit.

The reality is Russell Westbrook is a legitimate third superstar for the Lakers who brings more than enough to the table to offset any concerns about his shot selection or subpar shooting percentages from midrange and deep. Westbrook gives the Lakers a Superstar Big Three to match the Nets, two superstars who can create a triple-double every game, a chance at a record for points in transition, and a positive net rating with LeBron on the bench.

Let’s take a closer look at what Russell Westbrook brings to the Los Angeles Lakers and the four reasons why he’ll be the perfect third superstar for LeBron and AD and will lead the purple and gold to the NBA championship.

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1. LAKERS WILL HAVE A LEGITIMATE SUPERSTAR BIG THREE

Winning in the NBA comes down to superstars and the Russell Westbrook trade finally gives the Los Angeles Lakers the third superstar they desperately need to keep pace in the arms race with the Brooklyn Nets.

The Brooklyn Nets showed last season how important having a third superstar is when competing for an NBA championship. Despite injuries to all three superstars, Brooklyn still had two superstars available each game. Had L.A. had three superstars last season, they may have been able to work around the injury issues that led to their first round upset at the hands of the Phoenix Suns. The third superstar raises a team’s floor and ceiling.

Besides providing insurance against injuries and unique load management opportunities, having a third superstar also gives the Lakers the versatility to create lethal lineups that teams without three superstars simply can’t match. For example, if healthy, the Lakers could easily stagger their Superstar Big Three so they would have three superstars on the court to start and close games and at least two superstars on the court at all times during the game.

A legitimate Superstar Big Three gives NBA teams vital insurance against injuries to their superstars and the versatility to create dominating lineups with multiple superstars against whom most teams have no defense.

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2. LAKERS WILL HAVE TWO TRIPLE-DOUBLE THREATS

The Westbrook trade not only gives the Lakers two superstars capable of posting a triple-double every game this season but also enables them to have a ‘difference-making playmaker’ on the floor all 48 minutes of game.

The early offseason reports confirmed the Lakers’ top priority this offseason was to acquire a transcendent top-10 point guard to enable LeBron James to give up the ball and move to power forward and Anthony Davis to center. Turning over control of the ball to Russell Westbrook, the greatest triple-double machine in league history with 184 career triple-doubles, guarantees the Lakers will continue to receive elite playmaking from point guard.

Westbrook’s win-loss record when posting a triple double is 138–46 or 75%. While his overall scoring numbers may decrease, Russ should be able to continue to average a triple-double playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Assuming Russ plays all 82 regular season games, the Lakers should have a great chance to win more than 60 games during the regular season, which would be their best record since they went 65–19 in the 2008–09 season.

Having two legitimate triple-double threats in LeBron James and Russell Westbrook should dramatically improve the Los Angeles Lakers’ ability to win games during the long regular season and critical playoff scenarios.

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3. LAKERS WILL LEAD LEAGUE IN TRANSITION OFFENSE

With the addition of Westbrook, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to return to the halcyon days of Showtime, when Magic Johnson’s playmaking ignited the greatest fast break transition offense in NBA history.

Adding a superhero like the Flash to a team that already boasts Superman and Batman could be overkill but pushing the ball in transition has become the NBA formula for getting high percentage shots before defenses get set. Teams understand scoring in transition or early offense opportunities have become a necessity when playing teams who have solid half court defenses. Westbrook’s speed and pressure on the rim in transition are unmatched.

In a disappointing last season, the Lakers struggled mightily in transition, finishing 21st out of 30 NBA teams with a pace of 98.85 but they were still 8th out of 30 teams with 1.14 points per game in transition efficiency. With Westbrook running the point, the Washington Wizards finished first last season with a transition pace of 104.67, 1.82 points better than the Bucks, who were the second fastest team in the league with a pace of 102.85.

The addition of Russell Westbrook should enable the Lakers to recreate the halcyon days of Magic Johnson and Showtime and catapult themselves to the top of the league when it comes to transition pace and efficiency.

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4. LAKERS WILL WIN THE MINUTES LEBRON JAMES RESTS

The addition of Westbrook will give Los Angeles Lakers an opportunity this season to do something no LeBron James team has been able to do in any of his 19 seasons in the league, which is win the minutes when he rests.

The last two seasons, despite having a second superstar in Anthony Davis, the Lakers still saw their net rating plummet whenever they rested LeBron James. Their production without LeBron hit rock botton against Phoenix. With LeBron James in the lineup, the Lakers posted a +4.8 point differential. When LeBron rested, the Suns destroyed the Lakers, who posted a -46.9 point differential without LeBron during the series, much without Davis.

The Lakers’ problems without LeBron can be attributed to their lack of a ‘difference-making playmaker’ to run the offense when the King was on the bench. The availability of two other superstars clearly changes that dynamic. Being able to play lineups with Westbrook and Davis that can dominate opponents when LeBron James rests could be the biggest advantage having a Superstar Big Three brings to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Winning the non-LeBron minutes could be the biggest game changer the Lakers will reap from trading for Russell Westbrook. Russ and AD plus three high percentage, high volume 3-point shooters could be a lethal lineup.