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Christian Wood Signing Makes Lakers So Deep It Doesn’t Matter Who Starts

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The remade Los Angeles Lakers are so deep after signing Christian Wood that it doesn’t matter who starts because they have the depth and diversity to create multiple starting lineups that could win an NBA championship.

That Rob Pelinka was able to put together this roster from the ashes of the Russell Westbrook trade while both getting younger and remaining under the hard cap is nothing short of miraculous and deserving of EOY honors. After passing opportunities to trade Westbrook last offseason, Pelinka parlayed difference-making trade deadline and offseason moves to remake the lottery Lakers into what should be one of the championship favorites.

In a different universe, these Lakers could be a team that alternates two or more different starting lineups to better matchup with and beat specific opponents who play big or small or superstars who need special attention.
Regardless of who the Lakers start, they have so much depth and diversity off the bench that they can easily make quick changes to fix problems or improve matchups. Look for Ham to consistently play 11 or 12 players.

That 11/12-man rotation includes superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis plus five shooters who can score 20 points any game in D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and Christian Wood. The Lakers’ greatly increased size, dramatically improved outside shooting, and desperately needed new options on the wing have provided the depth and diversity to create multiple championship caliber starting lineups.

Think how deep an NBA team must be to have the ability to create multiple championship caliber starting lineups. There are probably other Lakers players like Vincent and Hayes who could also have shots at being starters. What we’re likely to see from the Lakers is an evolving starting lineup that enters training camp with Rui Hachimura as the favorite fifth starter but with Cam Reddish and Christian Wood looking to take that spot from him.

With Christian Wood signed, this Lakers’ roster is so deep and talented with so many trustworthy starting lineup options and promising low risk, high reward projects that it does not matter which players end up starting.

The Three Most Likely Lakers Starting Lineups

Assuming James, Davis, Reaves, and Russell start, the Lakers’ best options for a fifth starter include last year playoffs hero Rui Hachimura, talented 3&D wing Cam Reddish, or just acquired stretch five Christian Wood.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ overriding priority in deciding who will be the team’s fifth starter is to find the player who best fits with and complements the Russell and Reaves backcourt and the James and Davis front court.
Needless to say, the player who is the best fit and best complements the other four starters may not be the fifth best player on the team. Or even the sixth or seventh. The key is who makes the Lakers’ starting lineup best.

While healthy competition at multiple positions will likely determine who ends up being the Lakers fifth starter, the current favorite to win the fifth starting position heading into training camp is probably Rui Hachimura. Rui played extremely well in the playoffs, his career 51.9% from deep in the playoffs being a record despite a career 34.7% from deep for the regular season. Lakers hope Rui can will break out this year as a second tier star.

Should Rui not provide consistent floor spacing and quality wing defense needed from the fifth starter, the Lakers could turn to a young prototype small forward Cam Reddish who has the talent to be a legitimate 3&D wing.
Reddish has no chance to start when the season begins but he could have an opportunity once he earns Ham’s trust because he has the size and skills at both ends to allow James and Davis to continue to play the four and five.

Regardless of how well Hachimura or Reddish play, it’s almost inevitable the Lakers ultimately revert to starting two-bigs lineups with Wood at the five to accommodate Davis’ stated desire to play more four and less five. Once Wood proves he’s bought into the Lakers philosophy and Ham is confident he’s ready, Christian should become the Lakers’ starting center with his ability to shoot the basketball from deep and protect the rim.

Ultimately, Anthony Davis wants to play the four and the Lakers want to play two bigs, which means that Christian Wood should eventually become the Lakers’ fifth starter as opposed to Rui Hachimura or Cam Reddish.

Why It Doesn’t Matter Who Starts for Lakers

Ultimately, who starts for the Lakers doesn’t really matter because all the team’s viable starting lineups are championship caliber with two superstars and a talented deep and diverse roster that can shoot, pass, and defend.

As long as Davis and James are healthy and playing at their peak, this Lakers roster is too deep and diverse with plug-and-play rotation players who shoot, rebound, pass, defend not to contend for a championship.
It’s not going to make a difference whether it’s Hachimura, Reddish, or Wood who becomes the fifth starter alongside James, Davis, Reaves, and Russell. In fact, there’s a good chance all three could start at some point.

During their championship run in 2020, the Los Angeles Lakers’ starting lineup featured JaVale McGee starting at center to begin the season, Dwight Howard to close out the season, and Anthony Davis during the playoffs.
There’s a possible scenario where the Lakers begin the season with Rui Hachimura as the fifth starter, switch to Cam Reddish midway through the season, and finally go two-bigs with Christian Wood at five in the playoffs.

For a team as deep and diverse as these Lakers, who plays to close out quarters, halves, and games could be more important than who starts the game, provided the starters don’t consistently fall way behind opponents. Especially for the regular season, the Lakers would be wise to take full advantage of their depth and diversity by limiting the time played by both Anthony Davis and LeBron James to less than 30 minutes per game.

Ultimately, how Hachimura, Reddish, and Wood actually play on the court, fill their roles, and fit with the other Lakers starters will determine who ends up being the fifth starter. That’s what camp and preseason are for. Unlike other seasons, the Lakers enter camp with major positional battles both in the back and front courts. With lots of questions that need to be answered, the Lakers floor is the playoffs and ceiling championship.

The Lakers are extremely fortunate that they were able to build a roster so deep and diverse that it allows them to create multiple different starting lineups good enough to compete for and win an NBA championship.

Could Lakers Pull Off Mega Midseason Trade But Keep Championship Depth?

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Thanks to great moves at last season’s trade deadline and this offseason, the Lakers now find themselves with the deepest and most talented roster and the most legitimate tradable contracts since signing LeBron James.

That bodes well for the Lakers’ championship hopes for next season and for their chances to pull off a blockbuster move before the trade deadline to upgrade their roster from championship contender to title favorite.
The Lakers find themselves in the enviable position of not having to make a move to compete for a championship but they won’t hesitate to swing for the fences if the right player or players were suddenly to become available.

Everybody knows the Lakers would like to trade for a third superstar to play alongside LeBron and AD, help win a championship this season, and then replace James whenever he decides to retire or leave in free agency. The Lakers still have two open roster spots to fill and are hoping to add enough depth so they’ll still have a strong 10-man rotation even after trading two or three current players for a third star before the deadline.

While Rob Pelinka has done a masterful job rebuilding the team on the court, he’s done an even better job cleaning up and optimizing the Lakers salary cap so he has the trading chips to pursue a third star or superstar. Pelinka has built this roster for a big trade. While Reaves is throwing his hat in the ring to be the team’s third star, the Lakers will be on a mission and know this could be their best chance to get another ring for LeBron.

If the Lakers start strong, stay healthy, and get winning play from their starters and rotation, major trading chips and key wild card projects, they can still have championship caliber depth after trading for a third star.

What Would Lakers’ Mega Trade Packages Look Like?

Here are three proposed Laker trades for a $40 million star or stars built upon a package of D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and Top-5 protected 2029 first round pick and 2030 first round pick swap.

There’s a consensus among analysts that the package the Lakers will likely be pushing as they approach the trade deadline will include D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and necessary draft capital. The Lakers’ problem is they won’t trade James, Davis, or Reaves, which means there’s simply no way to match salaries to trade for a pair of stars or a superstar making $40 million without including Russell and Hachimura.

Russell’s $17.3 million, Hachimura’s $15.7 million, and Hood-Schifino’s $3.7M give the the Lakers $36.7 million in valuable tradable salaries, enough to bring back a player or players making $40 million per year. Players whom the Lakers might pursue include Trae Young, Zach LaVine, Pascal Siakam, Kyrie Irving, Kristaps Porzingis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Brandon Ingram, DeMar DeRozan, Myles Turner, and Buddy Hield.

While Russell or Hachimura could play so well the Lakers could decide to keep one or both of them and settle for just minor tweaks or no changes to the roster, the Lakers have positioned themselves for a blockbuster trade. Rob Pelinka sees this as an opportunity not only to reinforce the roster to make a run to win another championship for LeBron but also possibly to make a big move to actually land the player or players to replace James.

The Lakers love the roster they have right now but understand that this season is an opportunity to win their 18th NBA championship as well as a chance to trade for third superstar to eventually replace LeBron James.

What Would Lakers’ Post-Trade Depth Charts Look Like?

Here is how the projected depth charts for the Lakers would look like after making the three blockbuster trades used above as examples of possible deadline trades by L.A. In each case, Lakers still end up with deep rosters.

Looking at the above depth charts, trading for a superstar like Trae Young or Zach LaVine or a pair of second-tier stars like Myles Turner and Buddy Hield would greatly upgrade the firepower of the Lakers’ starting lineup. 
The Lakers would be trading two starters for two starters from the Pacers and two starters for one starter from the Hawks or Bulls, which then opens up an opportunities to play two bigs or start Cam Reddish at small forward.

What also jumps out from the above depth charts is how important the Lakers’ last two open roster spots could be, especially if they can land an impact player like Christian Woods for just the veteran’s minimum pay. Depth always looks better on paper but often falls prey to reality as players don’t live up to expectations or get injured. Because of so many wild cards, the Lakers ceiling is exceptionally high and their floor exceptionally low.

Because of the rule changes which prevent teams who are over the first tax threshold from signing any buyout candidates, the Lakers are likely to keep their 15th roster spot open for potential star quality buyout candidates. There’s definitely a possibility of an older veteran player getting released and becoming available in time to be eligible to participate in the playoffs. As a team that can sign buyouts, the Lakers will keep their 15th spot open.

The Lakers need to stay healthy and hope questions about almost every player on the roster get answered positively but a midseason trade for a superstar or pair of stars to this team could lead to their winning #18.

How Hayes And Reddish ‘Wild Cards’ Could Be Key to Trade

The Lakers’ odds of still having championship quality bench depth after trading multiple players for a third superstar or pair of second-tier stars could depend on how wild cards Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish play.

The Lakers hope signing Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish, the #8 and #10 picks in the 2019 NBA Draft, will yield the same lightning-in-a-bottle they got for trading for Rui Hachimura, the #9 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. 
Until Hachimura broke out and finished the regular season strong and excelled in the playoffs for the Lakers, all three of the Top-10 2019 draftees were considered to be players who had underperformed their draft status.

But right now, Hayes, Reddish, and Hachimura are have realistic options to start for the Lakers: Hayes at the five with Davis in a two-bigs lineup or Reddish or Hachimura at the three with James and Davis and four and five. How the three perform in training camp and preseason could very well determine who starts for the Lakers. In a perfect world, Hachimura will continue to excel as a Laker while Hayes and Reddish have breakout years.

The NBA has always been a star and superstar driven league and the Lakers roster has four players who were top-10 first round picks in LeBron James (#1), Anthony Davis (#1), D’Angelo Russell (#2), and Rui Hachimura (#9). 
The four players the Lakers were targeting via midseason trades were Trae Young (#5), Zach LaVine (#13), Myles Turner (#11), and Buddy Hield (#6), which would give the Lakers five or six players who were top-13 picks.

The Lakers need all three of their 2019 Top-10 draft picks to have career seasons so they can pull off a mega midseason trade for a third star or superstar and still have championship caliber depth left after the trade.

How the Lakers Pull Off A Back-Door Sweep and Defeat the Denver Nuggets

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After blowing two golden opportunities to steal a win in Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers still remain on course again to win the series in six games by winning their three home games and stealing one game on the road.

As impressive as Jokic, Murray, and the Nuggets were in their two wins over the Lakers, the reality is they needed a superstar performance that’s probably irreplicable in each game to barely hold home court advantage. Michael Malone can be proud of what his Nuggets accomplished in Denver but this series is far from over and what advantage Denver has right now could be gone by Monday night if the Lakers win their two home games.

The Lakers are a perfect 7–0 in this postseason, winning one home play-in game and six home playoff games in rounds 1 and 2. They dominated all six home playoff games, winning by 18.3 points per game with a 98.3 DefRtg. The Nuggets are going to need another transcendent performance from Jokic or Murray to beat the Lakers at home. Far as Lakers are concerned, they’re right on course to win this series in six games just as planned.

Championships in the NBA are won by superstars and it’s hard to imagine the championship-tested LeBron James and Anthony Davis being outplayed by the Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. They’re have to prove they belong. LeBron James may be old and hurt and Anthony Davis frustratingly inconsistent but there’s no way they’re not going to come out tonight and angrily dominate the Nuggets with the crowd screaming for a massacre.

The Lakers now know they must slow down both Jokic and Murray, which could mean starting both Hachimura and Vanderbilt, who have shown to be the best answers Darvin Ham has to defend the Nuggets’ superstars. They also know they need to dominate the boards and points in the paint, which to me means letting Reaves, Hachimura, and Walker be the outside shooters and having James and Davis dominate the paint and the rim.

The Lakers need to double down on going big and relentlessly punish both Jokic and Murray by targeting them with James and Davis. Put them on the bench with fouls. Wear them out on Defense. Get to the free throw line.
The Lakers know the best way to setup their defense is to get to the line on offense. That means no more ‘hero threes’ from LeBron and Anthony, no more settling for jumpers. Attack the paint and rim relentlessly.

The Lakers are still of the course to win the series is six games. Win Game 3 and 4 at home, steal Game 5 on the road, and close it in Game 6 at home. Lakers pull off improbable back-door sweep and roll into the NBA Finals.

Have LeBron James, Anthony Davis, & Los Angeles Lakers Hit Their Ceiling?

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The bad news is the Los Angeles Lakers lost two close, winnable games on the road to the Denver Nuggets. The good news is the Lakers now have an opportunity to win the next two games in Los Angeles to even the series.

While the Nuggets have a 2–0 lead in the Western Conference Finals over the Lakers, all they have done is to hold home court advantage by winning their two games in Denver. Now it’s the Lakers’ turn with two home games. Unfortunately, losing two games in a row for the first time in two months will likely have the Lakers questioning their series strategies and schemes, especially since they had a legitimate opportunities to win both games.

The reality facing Los Angeles is they lost the first two games of this series because the Nuggets’ underappreciated superstars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray outplayed Lakers’ superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Jokic averaged an unbelievable 28.5/19.0/13.0 in 28.5 minutes per game while shooting 55.3/50.0/85.7% while Murray averaged 34.0/7.5/5.0 in 39.9 minutes per game while shooting 52.3/45.5/92.3% for the 2 Denver wins.

Meanwhile, James averaged 24.0/10.5/9.5 in 40.0 minutes per game while shooting 51.4/0.0/80.0% while Davis averaged 29.0/12.0/3.5 in 41.4 minutes per game while shooting 47.4/50.0/90.9% during the 2 losses in Denver.
For the 2 games, Jokic and Murray combined for 125 points, 53 rebounds, and 36 assists while James and Davis combined for 106 points, 45 rebounds, and 26 assists, a Nuggets’ edge of 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists.

So while the Nuggets only held home court, the Lakers have some serious issues to fix before they can count on winning their two home games as their defense was shredded by the Nuggets while their offense struggled. While the Lakers did have some success with Hachimura guarding Jokic and Vanderbilt defending Murray, the Nuggets have been ignoring Vando in the corner so their defense would be able to play 5-on-4 against the Lakers.

As the Lakers get ready to defend their 7–0 postseason home record at Crypto.Com Arena tomorrow night, here are the four big questions they need to answer if they’re going to be able to hold home court in L.A.

1. How to Stop Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic?

The one good sign for the Lakers from the two close losses in Denver is the defensive scheme involving Rui Hachimura defending Nikola Jokic to allow Anthony Davis to roam the paint and protect the rim definitely works.

No scheme will shut down the two-time MVP but Hachimura being Jokic’s primary defender with Davis roaming to protect the rim was successful in keeping Nikola from having another historic performance like in Game 1. While the Lakers will try to keep Hachimura on Jokic as much as possible, there will be switches they can’t avoid and it’s likely that Davis and James will also spend time defending the Joker and maybe even Mo Bamba.

Ham needs to start Hachimura and play him starter minutes. The Lakers’ best strategy to stop Nikola Jokic is to have Rui Hachimura be his primary defender so Anthony Davis is free to patrol the paint and protect the rim.

2. How to Stop Nuggets’ Jamal Murray?

The Lakers best option to slow down Denver Nuggets’ superstar point guard Jamal Murray, who single-handedly scored 23 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Lakers in Game 2, is likely to have Jarred Vanderbilt guard him.

That means the Lakers have to find a way to start Jarred Vanderbilt so he can mirror Jamal Murray’s minutes. The only way to do that is for Jarred Vanderbilt to replace D’Angelo Russell in the starting lineup for this series. That would mean the Lakers going all-in on defense with a starting lineup of Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, and Anthony Davis, which is essentially the Lakers’ version of a ‘Death Lineup.’

The Lakers’ championship hopes and aspirations are based on their ability to play defense. What they learned in Denver is they need to start their best defensive lineup to have their best opportunity to win 2 games in L.A.

3. How to Get LeBron James Going?

Game 2 left no doubt LeBron is not 100%. The fourth quarter was a comedy of errors for James as he fumbled away fastbreak dunks, had no lift when down hill in paint, and settled for hero threes instead of attacking the rim.

There’s little the Lakers can do about James’ foot injury that will likely require surgery this offseason but they can limit James minutes so he’s not totally gassed in the fourth quarter and settling for long hero 3-pointers. Frankly, it’s doubtful that going 0–10 from three in the two games in Denver is going to dissuade LeBron James from letting it fly from deep. With Rui and Reaves spacing the floor, the Lakers need to play LeBron in the post.

James may not have the explosiveness, lift, or 3-point shooting to carry the Lakers by himself but playing him closer to the basket where he can take advantage of his superior strength, power, and experience would be smart.

4. How to Get Anthony Davis Going?

Just when you think Anthony Davis has taken the torch from LeBron James, he has a game like Game 2 in Denver where he posts 18/14/4 but shot a poor 4–15 from the field and ended up with a -10 plus/minus for Game 2.

And just like that, the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves down 0–2 to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals with the newly crowned face of the franchise laying an egg in the biggest playoff game of his career. Anthony Davis needs to attack faster, quicker, and more aggressively on offense. Since he’s guarded by Nikola Jokic, the Lakers need him to attack Jokic and get him in foul trouble so he can’t average 42.2 minutes per game.

The Lakers cannot win with Anthony Davis scoring 18 points. They need him to score in the 30’s and get Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in foul trouble. Davis needs a monster bounce-back 35/20/5 Game 2 to help Lakers win.

D’Angelo Russell and the Lakers Need Point Guard to Deliver Monster Game!

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After finishing with just 8 points and a team-worst plus/minus of -25 in Game 1 of the West Finals, mercurial Lakers’ point Guard D’Angelo Russell found himself back on the court later that night trying to find his stroke.

A big part of the Lakers late season finish and first two round wins, Russell struggled mightily in Game 1 and the Nuggets’ coaches and players publicly boasted how they shut him down and made him unplayable in this series. It’s easy to understand why the Nuggets would like the Lakers to not play Russell, who along with Reaves has been one of the four core starters who were behind the team’s late season finish and early playoff heroics.

On the other hand, you would think that teams facing the Lakers would stop poking the bear. It’s stupid to give the Lakers bulletin board material or make comments to wake up and motivate D’Angelo Russell for Game 2. Darvin Ham and the Lakers are not going to bench D’Angelo Russell. They need his playmaking and shooting. What they’re going to do is figure out ways to get him going because he’s a critical component to their winning.

The critics and doubters always point to Russell as the Lakers’ weakest defender but they don’t realize it’s his offensive prowess and his elite shooting and playmaking that make D’Angelo valuable, not his defense. D’Angelo Russell averaged 18.6/3.4/5.6 in 32.8 mpg for regular season while shooting 49.4/42.6/72.2% with a +/- of +8.9. In the playoffs, he’s averaging 15.1/3.0/4.8 in 31.1 mpg while shooting 44.0/33.3/77.3% with a +/- of +2.3.

One of the strengths of the Lakers post trade deadline is the army of guards who are outstanding at using pick-and-rolls to get into the paint and put their defenders in jail for easy floaters or lobs to the rim for easy dunks. The combination of LeBron James, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Dennis Schroder being able to get where they want in the paint has now transformed the Lakers half-court offense into a clutch playoff weapon.

The Lakers and D’Angelo Russell desperately need the him to deliver a monster game tonight to show why the team should re-sign him to a new contract and why he’s the right fit as the team’s point guard of the future.