Out of the All-Star break, the Lakers have the most certainty and structure as they’ve had all season with their rotation. For better or worse, there is a set starting lineup with little debate about change.
Similarly, they have a rotation that, realistically, doesn’t have much argument for change either. Aside from a minor injury to Jaxson Hayes, both the starting lineup and bench are also fully healthy, too.
While that doesn’t mean either is perfect, it will give us a growing sample size of what
is working and what isn’t, and, more pertinent to this article, who the team can and can not trust.
On that note, let’s dive in!
Starters: Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart, LeBron James, Deandre Ayton.
Rui Hachimura
Unfortunately for Rui, one of the only loud parts of the week for him was the badly missed 3-pointer in the final minute against the Magic. It did follow a clutch 3-pointer in that same game, but it’s been a rough stretch of games out of the All-Star break.
Luke Kennard
Kennard has been a great fit offensively with the Lakers since joining the team. He’s shooting 71.4% overall, a number buoyed by the number of shots he’s had around the rim.
However, he’s also constantly picked on by defenses, which is a reminder of why he was available for just a second round pick.
Jake LaRavia
A number of quiet games for LaRavia, who has seven field goal attempts and eight personal fouls in the last three games. It’s been a real tough stretch for him.
Jarred Vanderbilt
Over the last three games, Vando has played 12, 11 and 10 minutes. He’s struggled to find a role offensively again which makes it hard to keep him on the floor, a similar story to the start of the season.
Jaxson Hayes
Hayes only played in two games over the last week and one of those was a game against the Celtics where he left after just five minutes. That did follow a Clippers game where he had eight points and three rebounds in 11 minutes, which is about as best case as it gets with him.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
