In this episode of the Laker Film Room Podcast, Pete and I discuss all sorts of potential lineups for this year’s Lakers.
We start out under the premise of LeBron, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball being the three starters we can most bank on (with Lonzo being the most questionable of that group, but Pete and I still believe he’s in). That takes us to a discussion of whether Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Josh Hart should start at shooting guard, breaking down their relative strengths and weaknesses, their fit with starting vs. bench units, and how their skill-sets defensively matter in terms of lineup construction.
This allows us to transition to the Center position, which sends us down the rabbit hole that is the Lakers’ big man rotation. Questions include: Is it crazy to think Zubac could start? How many minutes should LeBron be playing at C each night? If the Lakers best lineup includes LeBron playing C, should that lineup start the game?
After discussing the LeBron at Center question, we get into the Lakers abundance of wings/combo-forwards and wonder where they all fit in and what types of lineups the team can use to maximize them. Where does Michael Beasley fit in? What about Lance Stephenson? How many minutes do these guys get and will they be real “rotation” players who see a consistent role?
Finally, we close with both of us providing who, if we were choosing, would be the Lakers top-9 players who saw consistent minutes every night. Pete’s answer here is especially intriguing. You can listen to the full episode below, but before you do — this episode of the LFR Pod is sponsored by The Athletic where, you might have heard, our guy Pete is doing some really great work. If you’re not subscribing already, you can do so here at a nice discount on your first year.
Now, on to the pod…
https://soundcloud.com/user-456873398/potential-lineups#t=0:00
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