During this season, Lakers fans have bemoaned DeAndre Jordan starting, have clamored for guards like Reaves and Monk to play more, and have shared long Twitter threads on why lineup X does or doesn’t work. So, today, I want to highlight a few of the most played/ most effective lineups and break down what’s good, bad, and ugly about these lineups.
One caveat to keep in mind, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, and Trevor Ariza have yet to play a regular-season game this year due to injury. Whenever they join, it will surely dramatically change these lineups. With no time to see them play in actual games, it’s impossible to be sure if they will start, play significant minutes off the bench, or be end of the bench players. I have guessed who falls in these categories, but we will look at these lineups without them in mind for now.
The Starting Five
Russell Westbrook, Kent Bazemore, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and DeAndre Jordan have been the standard starting lineup this season.
The Good
On the positive side, this unit is one the team seems to like. It has guards like Bazemore, which defensive-minded coach Frank Vogel prefers, AD plays the four in this lineup which we know he prefers over the five, and it has your big three all playing together simultaneously.
The Bad
Unfortunately, the roster has more spacing issues than the 405 after work. With three players who put pressure on the rim and no shooters. Guards end up trying to finish in the paint with no room to operate. This lineup has a net rating of -14.2, which isn’t what you want from the starting unit of a championship contender.
The Ugly
DeAndre Jordan. His defensive ability is just not where it needs to be. He struggles/refuses to tag the screener; he goes into drop coverage when that doesn’t appear to be what Vogel wants, and when he gambles on defense, he usually loses, leading to an easy layup or dunk. This lineup feels like one the players want, but no data or eye test confirms it’s the best or a good choice. It’s unlikely we’ll see this starting lineup later on in the season, but in the meantime, expect to see it more than you’d like for the rest of the calendar year.
Small-Ball Five
When Dwight Howard missed games due to a neck injury, it shifted the team’s rotations. Vogel opted to put DeAndre Jordan on the bench and go with a small-ball five lineup of Russell Westbrook, Kent Bazemore, Avery Bradley, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis.
The Good
This lineup puts Anthony Davis at the five, which is his best position. It’s a defensively focused five-man unit with the only true weakness being Russ. And the Net Rating is 1.3, which is an improvement from the main starting five.
The Bad
The addition of Bazemore and Bradley doesn’t help offensively. Yes, Bradley is a three and D guy, but the three has been spotty this season, and Bazemore’s three-point percentage has fallen to 36%, which is a 4% drop from last season. So, while this unit puts AD at the five, you’re not getting dynamic scoring guards playing alongside him.
The Ugly
Early in the season, Russ is the odd man out. In this lineup, he’s clogging the lane, not a dynamic scorer, and definitely not a good defender. Russell Westbrook will eventually figure out how to work well with this team. He’s just too talented, and everyone is working hard to figure out how to utilize him, but right now, it’s hard to find lineups where he is a positive for the team.
Non-LeBron Lineups
With LeBron James out for at least a couple more games, looking at the non-Lebron lineups is a good idea. Non-LeBron lineups have always been brutal regardless of what year or team you look at. If LeBron James is on your team, him leaving the floor negatively impacts production. Getting a good unit, or at least one that doesn’t give up every team’s lead would be vital. One of the non-LeBron lineups Vogel has gone with has been Russell Westbrook, Malik Monk, Austin Reaves, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard.
The Good
This is a good bench unit. You have one starter with Russ, but the rest of the lineup is bench players, and this lineup has proven they can score. They’ve played together in six games this season and have a net rating of 15.2. It’s hard to ever get a positive net rating on a Lebron James-led team without LeBron James so the fact that this lineup does that is a great outlier.
The Bad
Defense can be a challenge with this lineup. Melo has been targeted when he’s on the court, and the opposing team has an elite guard; Reaves gives you effort, but he’s still a rookie, and Monk is an explosive offensive player, but good luck finding a defensive play in his highlight reel.
The Ugly
Not much ugly here minus the defense; this is a bench unit with its positive and negative aspects. Overall it has some bad, but not really anything ugly.
Non-LeBron Starting Five
With LeBron out with an abdominal strain, the Lakers have had to come out with a starting five that doesn’t include the King. In the past two games, Frank Vogel has gone with Russell Westbrook, Avery Bradley, Kent Bazemore, Anthony Davis, and DeAndre Jordan.
The Good
The lineup keeps AD at the four which he wants. It’s defensively focused with Bradley and Bazemore. The unit also has a plus-four as a whole.
The Bad
Similar to the small-ball five-unit, the trade-off of defense for offense hurts the offense. Bazemore, Bradley, and Russ are not a dream three-guard trio. Unless Bradley is hitting his corner three’s, this unit relies heavily on Anthony Davis’ production.
The Ugly
DeAndre Jordan, Anthon Davis, and Russell Westbrook aren’t a spacing dream. They clog up the lane, Russ hasn’t been great, and DJ is spotty, to say the least. When DJ is catching lobs, he is tolerable, but that isn’t promised on any given night. Again, putting AD at the five and putting someone else at the four would be ideal.
My Ideas
I have some lineups I’d like to see play that I think could work well. My first lineup is Russell Westbrook, Malik Monk, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Anthony Davis. I like this lineup because it puts AD at the five, gives you an offensive-focused four with Melo, and trades offense for defense, starting Malik Monk over Bazemore.
The negative of this lineup is it maybe leans a bit too much on the offense, and it damages your second unit because now your Sixth Man of the Year candidate Carmelo Anthony is a starter. It’s not hard to imagine Vogel preferring Bazemore over Monk, so I could tolerate switching the two, but Bazemore could be a better player coming off the bench than he is as a starter. As a bench player, he’s a good defender and will likely get a boost offensively going up against backup units.
The last lineup I want to discuss is Russell Westbrook, Kent Bazemore, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Dwight Howard. I think this is a good compromise of what the roster is and what Vogel wants. AD stays at the four, but you get a better five in Dwight, Bazemore gives you the defensive guard Vogel wants, and you keep the big three together. The only negative is now DJ is your backup center, and you don’t want that either, so now your second unit takes a hit. Also, when Dwight is a disaster, it’s a big disaster. The last thing you need is him getting in early foul trouble and you having to sub DJ in after three minutes.
Closing Thoughts
The Lakers have already played over 100 different five-man lineups. They are searching for answers, and the more they search, the more questions come up. Key players are still missing, but even so, this team has a Goldilocks feel to it. Pick scorers you lose defense, play your best players, destroy the backup units, do what the coach wants; it goes against the construction of the team. This team feels like a puzzle you can’t figure out, and you’re certain a piece is missing. And pieces are missing. LeBron, Nunn, THT, Dwight, and Ellington have all missed games. Vogel will have to make do with what he has, win while the team gets healthy, and figure out the best way to optimize the Lakers along the way. It’s a challenging task, but hopefully, Vogel is up to it.
Lakers Takes 