Bleacher Report’s league-wide starting lineup rankings put the Lakers 15th of 30, right in the middle of the league. The main knock is spacing: in B/R’s view, the lineup is short on shooting, with the guards the only reliable sources of either volume or efficiency from distance.
Two Shooters, Three Defenders
B/R graded the group it expects to start: Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams and Walker Kessler. The rankings weigh fit, talent, production and potential.
B/R gave the Lakers credit for finally getting Dončić a rim-runner and for adding wing defense, but concluded the group still carries a worrisome number of one-way players. Dončić and Reaves are the offense; Thybulle, Williams and Kessler are each on the floor for something other than shooting.
That is a slight drop from B/R’s preseason version of this exercise, which had the Lakers 13th while projecting Quentin Grimes and Jake LaRavia in the two open spots. JJ Redick chose two different defenders, and the ranking slipped.
B/R’s Own Record Prediction Does Not Match Its Lineup Grade
The interesting tension is inside Bleacher Report itself. Its final record predictions had the Lakers at 50-32, which is more optimistic than a 15th-ranked starting five would suggest.
Both can be true only if the bench does a lot of the work. Grimes signed for $60 million over four years and is not starting, so the bench is where much of this summer’s spending went.
Redick Traded Spacing for Defense on Purpose
Fifteenth is about right, and the reason is a choice the Lakers made. Defense was their problem last season, and Redick filled both open spots with defenders signed for point-of-attack pressure, knowing they would cost him shooting.
A lineup built to fix one weakness while living with another should rank in the middle. That is not a complaint about the roster; it is a description of the trade the front office made.
The top of this lineup is better than 15th, and the opener showed why. Kessler scored 26 points on 12-for-12 shooting with nine rebounds and two blocks in the win over Golden State, and the Dončić-to-Kessler connection looked like what the Lakers paid for.
One night against a team missing both its centers is not a season, though. Come the playoffs, a set defense will be happy to leave the wings open and crowd the paint, where Kessler does all his work.
What makes this ranking fragile is not the shooting. It is Kessler’s availability: he played five games last season before shoulder surgery ended it, and everything this lineup does well runs through him.
A middling grade on a lineup that has barely played together is less a verdict than a placeholder. The Lakers have the top end to make it look wrong.
Source: Bleacher Report
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