The guard spots

[iamworthy]

LeBron/AB/Green... I'm almost certain that's going to be the starting perimeter.

AB and Green will handle defensive duties outside, AB will bring the ball up and pass to LeBron, find a spot and wait for an open 3...

And we have Dudley to play 3rd 4 behind Kuzma... And I'm sure Lesser Greek will get some backup minutes at the 4/5 too...

We're OK. But if we could get Iggy, that would be great.

No love for KCP?

I think KCP is under-rated here, but I think AB is the logical starter at this point... IMO it's close though. KCP, AB, and Caruso are going to be in a dogfight for starting 1. I just think Avery Bradley has a leg up on the rest of them because his strengths will be maximized in our system, and his weaknesses hidden.
But I'd not be surprised if the season started with KCP starting... Or Daniels, or Cook either.

If we can get the Avery Bradley that ended the season with Memphis then it's s no brainer he should start. I really hope we establish a rotation with real minutes and stick to it. If Avery Bradley is starting then he should get starters minutes, not 19 or 20 minutes a game. Best man wins the job.

[zimpy27]

No love for KCP?

I think KCP is under-rated here, but I think AB is the logical starter at this point... IMO it's close though. KCP, AB, and Caruso are going to be in a dogfight for starting 1. I just think Avery Bradley has a leg up on the rest of them because his strengths will be maximized in our system, and his weaknesses hidden.
But I'd not be surprised if the season started with KCP starting... Or Daniels, or Cook either.

If we can get the Avery Bradley that ended the season with Memphis then it's s no brainer he should start. I really hope we establish a rotation with real minutes and stick to it. If Avery Bradley is starting then he should get starters minutes, not 19 or 20 minutes a game. Best man wins the job.

Best man should definitely win the job. It's not 100% clear what the rotation would be, it'd nice if the Lakers give all these guys enough minutes to make a case for themselves.

[iamworthy]

I think KCP is under-rated here, but I think AB is the logical starter at this point... IMO it's close though. KCP, AB, and Caruso are going to be in a dogfight for starting 1. I just think Avery Bradley has a leg up on the rest of them because his strengths will be maximized in our system, and his weaknesses hidden.
But I'd not be surprised if the season started with KCP starting... Or Daniels, or Cook either.

If we can get the Avery Bradley that ended the season with Memphis then it's s no brainer he should start. I really hope we establish a rotation with real minutes and stick to it. If Avery Bradley is starting then he should get starters minutes, not 19 or 20 minutes a game. Best man wins the job.

Best man should definitely win the job. It's not 100% clear what the rotation would be, it'd nice if the Lakers give all these guys enough minutes to make a case for themselves.

Obviously the two locks are AD and LeBron. I wonder if Lakers told boogie something during recruitment. If so, that leaves only two open spots for starters.

[zimpy27]

If we can get the Avery Bradley that ended the season with Memphis then it's s no brainer he should start. I really hope we establish a rotation with real minutes and stick to it. If Avery Bradley is starting then he should get starters minutes, not 19 or 20 minutes a game. Best man wins the job.

Best man should definitely win the job. It's not 100% clear what the rotation would be, it'd nice if the Lakers give all these guys enough minutes to make a case for themselves.

Obviously the two locks are AD and LeBron. I wonder if Lakers told boogie something during recruitment. If so, that leaves only two open spots for starters.

Well, Green is also likely a lock to start, if not, then he's probably getting traded.

He hasn't played 30 mpg in a playoff run for years and probably isn't up to it given his age and position.

That leaves at least 18mpg of bench SG, 48mpg of PG and 8mpg of bench SF (if Kuzma isn't good enough to cover it).

[Ball so hard]

If we can get the Avery Bradley that ended the season with Memphis then it's s no brainer he should start. I really hope we establish a rotation with real minutes and stick to it. If Avery Bradley is starting then he should get starters minutes, not 19 or 20 minutes a game. Best man wins the job.

Best man should definitely win the job. It's not 100% clear what the rotation would be, it'd nice if the Lakers give all these guys enough minutes to make a case for themselves.

Obviously the two locks are AD and LeBron. I wonder if Lakers told boogie something during recruitment. If so, that leaves only two open spots for starters.

It would be pretty silly to make promises to a player who had little to no market.

[TKainZero]

Behind Caruso, Troy Daniels might beat out Bradley, Pope, Cook for minutes but it’ll come down to defense. All can score at a high clip on open looks (except Bradley), so defense will determine.

If it comes to defense, Troy Daniels has no shot to play.

Daniels needs to just come in and be a deadly 3 point shooter. When he is on the court, he needs to be shooting up 3pt shots at high rates because he offers very little else. But he is elite at 3 point shooting, and should get a chance to play at some point

[stan francisco]

Behind Caruso, Troy Daniels might beat out Bradley, Pope, Cook for minutes but it’ll come down to defense. All can score at a high clip on open looks (except Bradley), so defense will determine.

If it comes to defense, Troy Daniels has no shot to play.

Daniels needs to just come in and be a deadly 3 point shooter. When he is on the court, he needs to be shooting up 3pt shots at high rates because he offers very little else. But he is elite at 3 point shooting, and should get a chance to play at some point

I base that on an interview, have never watched his defense. He said he’s kept on working on his shot but then mentioned defense as if it was his offseason to-do. Defense is a mindset, if he’s athletic, he can play defense if someone only tells him how to think.

[DanishLakerFan]

Behind Caruso, Troy Daniels might beat out Bradley, Pope, Cook for minutes but it’ll come down to defense. All can score at a high clip on open looks (except Bradley), so defense will determine.

If it comes to defense, Troy Daniels has no shot to play.

Daniels needs to just come in and be a deadly 3 point shooter. When he is on the court, he needs to be shooting up 3pt shots at high rates because he offers very little else. But he is elite at 3 point shooting, and should get a chance to play at some point

Daniels isn't a good defender, but the guy can REALLY shoot.

Over the past three seasons Daniels has been 2nd, 5th and 11th overall in 3s made per minute (in few minutes).

[tamaraw08]

Behind Caruso, Troy Daniels might beat out Bradley, Pope, Cook for minutes but it’ll come down to defense. All can score at a high clip on open looks (except Bradley), so defense will determine.

If it comes to defense, Troy Daniels has no shot to play.

Daniels needs to just come in and be a deadly 3 point shooter. When he is on the court, he needs to be shooting up 3pt shots at high rates because he offers very little else. But he is elite at 3 point shooting, and should get a chance to play at some point

Daniels isn't a good defender, but the guy can REALLY shoot.

Over the past three seasons Daniels has been 2nd, 5th and 11th overall in 3s made per minute (in few minutes).

I don’t think he and Cook would come this cheap if they really defend that well. We can just hope that they would not be as bad defensively or teammates can help mask their deficiencies. Last season every freaking perimeter player struggled shooting, I don’t think it’s going to happen this year. Whoever worked the hardest and at least shoot above 36% would get the bulk of the minutes

[Kilroy]

As a rule of thumb, I generally follow the money if there's any doubt about who's going to start... Based on paycheck, it would seem KCP or AB is going to start next to Green. That said, I think KCP has gotten enough chances to prove he's a full time starter and hasn't really shown it, so I can see AB getting the nod at least temporarily.
I love Caruso off the bench, but he's not a starter... He should be given the backup ball-handler duties after Lebron.
The second unit can be:
Caruso/KCP/Kuz/Dudley/McGee or Cousins if he isn't quite full-time ready... Or we can swap in Daniels or Cook for more 3s, and less D... I doubt Dudley is good for more than 15m/g anyway...

All that said, we have plenty of perimeter players at this point... IF we need anything it's a legit 4 or 5 for the bench.

[tamaraw08]

As a rule of thumb, I generally follow the money if there's any doubt about who's going to start... Based on paycheck, it would seem KCP or AB is going to start next to Green. That said, I think KCP has gotten enough chances to prove he's a full time starter and hasn't really shown it, so I can see AB getting the nod at least temporarily.
I love Caruso off the bench, but he's not a starter... He should be given the backup ball-handler duties after Lebron.
The second unit can be:
Caruso/KCP/Kuz/Dudley/McGee or Cousins if he isn't quite full-time ready... Or we can swap in Daniels or Cook for more 3s, and less D... I doubt Dudley is good for more than 15m/g anyway...

All that said, we have plenty of perimeter players at this point... IF we need anything it's a legit 4 or 5 for the bench.

I firmly believe the only reason KCP got so much money is because of the power move of Rich Paul. The guy failed miserably when the Lakers needed him most when Ball and LeBron (shot 31% from 3’s) went down with injuries and he was ranked in the 90’s among 110 shooting guards last year in DRPM, ranked outside of top 10 in DRTG AND DBPM for his team alone.
But hey I would be glad to be proven wrong this coming season if he finds his shot and work hard on defense.

[DanishLakerFan]

If it comes to defense, Troy Daniels has no shot to play.

Daniels needs to just come in and be a deadly 3 point shooter. When he is on the court, he needs to be shooting up 3pt shots at high rates because he offers very little else. But he is elite at 3 point shooting, and should get a chance to play at some point

Daniels isn't a good defender, but the guy can REALLY shoot.

Over the past three seasons Daniels has been 2nd, 5th and 11th overall in 3s made per minute (in few minutes).

I don’t think he and Cook would come this cheap if they really defend that well. We can just hope that they would not be as bad defensively or teammates can help mask their deficiencies. Last season every freaking perimeter player struggled shooting, I don’t think it’s going to happen this year. Whoever worked the hardest and at least shoot above 36% would get the bulk of the minutes

The shooting ability of Cook and Daniels should get them some minutes because it really can open up the floor for guys like Lebron and AD. But it might be quite dependent on matchup and scheme.

[DanishLakerFan]

As a rule of thumb, I generally follow the money if there's any doubt about who's going to start... Based on paycheck, it would seem KCP or AB is going to start next to Green. That said, I think KCP has gotten enough chances to prove he's a full time starter and hasn't really shown it, so I can see AB getting the nod at least temporarily.
I love Caruso off the bench, but he's not a starter... He should be given the backup ball-handler duties after Lebron.
The second unit can be:
Caruso/KCP/Kuz/Dudley/McGee or Cousins if he isn't quite full-time ready... Or we can swap in Daniels or Cook for more 3s, and less D... I doubt Dudley is good for more than 15m/g anyway...

All that said, we have plenty of perimeter players at this point... IF we need anything it's a legit 4 or 5 for the bench.

I firmly believe the only reason KCP got so much money is because of the power move of Rich Paul. The guy failed miserably when the Lakers needed him most when Ball and LeBron (shot 31% from 3’s) went down with injuries and he was ranked in the 90’s among 110 shooting guards last year in DRPM, ranked outside of top 10 in DRTG AND DBPM for his team alone.
But hey I would be glad to be proven wrong this coming season if he finds his shot and work hard on defense.

KCP is streaky as hell and for that reason he isn't that well regarded among many fans because he seems to disappear when we need him and show up when we dont. That said, overall he's probably a bit underrated at this point. He's solid from 3 and as a perimeter defender and compared to the other deals given out, it's not that bad. Rich Paul played a factor, of course, but KCP had to wait for Kawhi to make up his mind, which has a price as well.

[tamaraw08]

As a rule of thumb, I generally follow the money if there's any doubt about who's going to start... Based on paycheck, it would seem KCP or AB is going to start next to Green. That said, I think KCP has gotten enough chances to prove he's a full time starter and hasn't really shown it, so I can see AB getting the nod at least temporarily.
I love Caruso off the bench, but he's not a starter... He should be given the backup ball-handler duties after Lebron.
The second unit can be:
Caruso/KCP/Kuz/Dudley/McGee or Cousins if he isn't quite full-time ready... Or we can swap in Daniels or Cook for more 3s, and less D... I doubt Dudley is good for more than 15m/g anyway...

All that said, we have plenty of perimeter players at this point... IF we need anything it's a legit 4 or 5 for the bench.

I firmly believe the only reason KCP got so much money is because of the power move of Rich Paul. The guy failed miserably when the Lakers needed him most when Ball and LeBron (shot 31% from 3’s) went down with injuries and he was ranked in the 90’s among 110 shooting guards last year in DRPM, ranked outside of top 10 in DRTG AND DBPM for his team alone.
But hey I would be glad to be proven wrong this coming season if he finds his shot and work hard on defense.

KCP is streaky as hell and for that reason he isn't that well regarded among many fans because he seems to disappear when we need him and show up when we dont. That said, overall he's probably a bit underrated at this point. He's solid from 3 and as a perimeter defender and compared to the other deals given out, it's not that bad. Rich Paul played a factor, of course, but KCP had to wait for Kawhi to make up his mind, which has a price as well.

No he doesn’t “seemed” to disappear when needed most he does disappear as evidenced by his low% for January and February and even his overall % from 3 whictis under 35% is not “solid” IMO. All advanced stats including DRPM, DRTG AND DBPM point to an abysmal definition imo

[dino10k]

Lakers backcourt seems to be clear as mud from reading these posts.......Good luck Laker fans.

[tamaraw08]

Lakers backcourt seems to be clear as mud from reading these posts.......Good luck Laker fans.

It’s not uncommon for teams to have some question marks on certain positions. Who is the clear cut player to play center for the Clippers? What about the center for the Warriors the past 4 years? At least Lebron is a great passer and ball handler and has played PtForward before at Miami and it’s pretty clear they have 4 players who have an ave of above 38% from the 3 pt area and LeBron has always lead his team in top 5 ORTG when his team shoots well from that distance and add AD who is a dynamic defender and scorer etc. Yes they don’t have a great PG but its not like they have a bunch of scrubs at that position it’s just that some have some weaknesses in 1 side the the floor. My safest choice who don’t have a glaring weakness is Alex Caruso. He’s a workhorse, he’s pretty smart and he has shown that he can shoot albeit he’s sample size is not sufficient

[stan francisco]

Line-ups and rotations:

PG: James 16 | Caruso 24 | Bradley 4 | Rondo 3 | Norvell 1
SG: Green 24 | Pope 12 | Bradley 8 | Daniels 3 | Cook 1
SF: Kuzma 24 | James 16 | THT 6 | Caroline 2
PF: Davis 32 | Kuzma 12 | Dudley 3 | Cacok 1
C: Cousins 24 | McGee 20 | Davis 2 | Antetokounmpo 2


My Starters:
PG: LBJ
SG: Green
SF: Kuzma
PF: Davis
C: DMC

Identity: Size. All coaches will have to react to us. Defense? Yes. Team defense, with an actual system of rotations based on trust, size and athleticism. LBJ does not have to guard Curry, but who is scurry gonna guard? Not even the sixers’ starters are as big. Size is an advantage on defense, too, as long as there’s speed. Check.

[tamaraw08]

Line-ups and rotations:

PG: James 16 | Caruso 24 | Bradley 4 | Rondo 3 | Norvell 1
SG: Green 24 | Pope 12 | Bradley 8 | Daniels 3 | Cook 1
SF: Kuzma 24 | James 16 | THT 6 | Caroline 2
PF: Davis 32 | Kuzma 12 | Dudley 3 | Cacok 1
C: Cousins 24 | McGee 20 | Davis 2 | Antetokounmpo 2


My Starters:
PG: LBJ
SG: Green
SF: Kuzma
PF: Davis
C: DMC

Identity: Size. All coaches will have to react to us. Defense? Yes. Team defense, with an actual system of rotations based on trust, size and athleticism. LBJ does not have to guard Curry, but who is scurry gonna guard? Not even the sixers’ starters are as big. Size is an advantage on defense, too, as long as there’s speed. Check.

Most teams would exploit Cousins’ inability to switch to prolific PGs like Lillard, Steph, Murray etc in high pick and pops/rolls imo, as they say,3 beats 2.
I also see Curry guarding Green who don’t post up at all.

[stan francisco]

Line-ups and rotations:

PG: James 16 | Caruso 24 | Bradley 4 | Rondo 3 | Norvell 1
SG: Green 24 | Pope 12 | Bradley 8 | Daniels 3 | Cook 1
SF: Kuzma 24 | James 16 | THT 6 | Caroline 2
PF: Davis 32 | Kuzma 12 | Dudley 3 | Cacok 1
C: Cousins 24 | McGee 20 | Davis 2 | Antetokounmpo 2


My Starters:
PG: LBJ
SG: Green
SF: Kuzma
PF: Davis
C: DMC

Identity: Size. All coaches will have to react to us. Defense? Yes. Team defense, with an actual system of rotations based on trust, size and athleticism. LBJ does not have to guard Curry, but who is scurry gonna guard? Not even the sixers’ starters are as big. Size is an advantage on defense, too, as long as there’s speed. Check.

Most teams would exploit Cousins’ inability to switch to prolific PGs like Lillard, Steph, Murray etc in high pick and pops/rolls imo, as they say,3 beats 2.
I also see Curry guarding Green who don’t post up at all.

I’m back and forth on JMG or DMC depending on the opponent. I actually expect them to take turns starting. DMC should and probably will start against Embiid, Vucevic, Jokic, etc. Green can “shoot over chairs”.

[Up-And-Coming]

One of Troy Daniels or Quinn Cook will be our Eddie House in limited minutes. Whenever they are in the game, just shoot 3 point shots and get them up quick.

I have no idea who will get the most minutes out of all our guards but it will be interesting to see as they have very different skill sets (Daniels, Cook are shooters and Caruso is the most well rounded and best defender and Rondo is the smartest and toughest and an X-Factor in the playoffs).