Training camp has officially begin and with it we are finally getting more insight about where the Lakers are at and that includes everything from their players their coaching staff and really their entire team in general with all of it now being back in the spotlight and while some of that is good other parts have me questioning their future outlook.
A few injury updates and fortunately for the Lakers they are not dealing with any long-term issues like they were last year but they are still dealing with a few minor injuries Bonnie Walker is recovering from a sprained ankle and Troy Brown Jr is dealing with a reoccurring back issue which led to both of them being held out their first practice it does not appear that either Then are long-term problems but they are worth taking note of and especially if they end up missing any more time Beyond this week.
Because If that were to happen then they would be at risk of falling down in the rotation with it currently being an open competition to get playing time no one is guaranteed anything and the more time you miss the less likely you are to get a big role with that being particularly true for a backcourt player like lonnie Walker we all know about their loaded and overall messy backcourt there have been all kinds of rumors about it and no one knows for sure how it will pan out and despite Lonnie Walker being given the biggest contract they had to offer during free agency that does not guarantee him any kind of role nor playing time within their rotation either Troy Brown Jr is a bit luckier he’s got a much clearer path for playing time behind LeBron.
But even he would be negatively affected by missing time regardless I don’t think it’s a big deal at this point both of Then should be back shortly and are believed to be key members of their future rotation another injury update worth mentioning happens to be with Kendrick none though who is finally back to being a full participant during practice there were a lot of questions about his recovery over the summer and some reporters even put out false information about where he was at which only further contributed to the negative perceptions surrounding him fortunately though none of that turned out to be true Kendrick nunn appears to be on track to begin the year and he could potentially be an X Factor for their team if we are not counting Matt Ryan or Cole swider neither of whom are officially on the 15-man roster Then Kendrick none is probably their best overall three-point shooter the only other two who even have arguments to LeBron and Patrick Beverley neither of which are known for their three-point shooting that could Lead To None spending a lot of time on the court with both Dennis Schroder and Russell Westbrook who would each benefit from the floor space thing.
He can provide now that would make very relatively small backcourt but if Lonnie Walker and Austin Rivers cannot provide efficient three-point shooting then that Duty would fall to Kendrick none and with that being said what do we know about their starting lineup in overall rotation and well we all knew that LeBron and Anthony Davis were a given but it now appears that rusts will be locked in there as well up until this point there had been a lot of conversation regarding their starting lineup and if Westbrook would or even should be included within it and Darvin Ham definitely helped contribute to that he mentioned time and time again that his starting lineup will be decided by who plays defense although it appears that Westbrook won the job by verbally committing to that rather than actually showing it.
While that is not to say that he won’t play defense you get the feeling that ham is giving him a job to avoid making him angry now that could obviously change if Westbrook reverts back to his old ways but for right now at least he is locked in as their starting point guard and with that in mind who will be their other two starters there are many routes like a go with here as there are also many different ways you can view LeBron and Anthony Davis traditionally they are viewed as a small forward and powerful word.
But in reality they are built to play a power forward and center and while LeBron does not really care if he plays other three or four we do know that Anthony Davis does he do not like playing out the five and would rather play at the four even if it ultimately hurts their team and I say that because they really could end up hurting them this year they already like shooting by incorporating a lineup of LeBron 80 and Russ but keep being 80 at the 4 only contributes to that problem now it does help that they added Thomas Bryant whose proven capable of spacing the floor at times but that might not be enough to make up for their quote-unquote big three severely lacking three-point shooting.
I imagine they will go the relative Thomas Bryant which is not a bad idea if he can provide at least decent three-point shooting but their Offense would benefit by moving A. D to the five doing that would allow them to add a higher volume shooter a quicker off-ball mover and a more switchable player to their starting lineup all of which would benefit their offense but again I really doubt they’ll go that route and more likely than not either Thomas Bryant or Damien Jones will be included instead and hopefully they’ll go with Thomas Bryant.
Because if they don’t we could be getting a repeat of what their offense looked like last season and let’s say that they do include Thomas Bryant who would be the one to fill that final spot with Lonnie Walker Austin Rivers Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn being up for consideration they will likely hold an open trial for this spot throughout training camp.
Which will involve starting a different player during every preseason game one game they might feature a smaller lineup with Patrick Beverley at shooting guard but then the next they could go with Walter Reeves at shooting guard and if Darvin Ham can be believed then it will ultimately come down to defense again I’m kind of taking that with a grain of salt given that he already gave Westbrook a starting role but he will likely be a bit tougher on their role players if we go back to his interviews throughout the summer though he rarely went without mentioning Austin Rivers and I would be willing to bet that he is the leading candidate for their shooting guard spot right now you can definitely make an argument for Beverly fitting that description too.
But I simply cannot view him as a wing Defender like they are trying to make him out to be I mean it’s one thing for him to switch onto a bigger Wing Defender but having him tried to defend one all game long could be a bad idea I imagine that Darvin Ham knows that even if he doesn’t want to admit it and that could likely lead to Reeves getting the job obviously nothing is guaranteed at this point and Beyond LeBron A. D and Russ they’re going into training camp with an open mind, which is definitely what they should be doing as well although I would be willing to bet that Thomas Bryant will be their Center and then Austin Reeves will become their starting shooting guard that to me would fit what Darvin Ham is looking for along with giving their offense at least a fighting chance to end up working with all of that being said though what do you guys think what do you believe their starting lineup should be and then what do you think it actually will be let me know your thoughts by commenting down.