The Lakers need to fill two roles in the rotation after losing Avery Bradley for the season and Rajon Rondo for 6 to 8 weeks.
How could the Lakers replace them?
The starting lineup will need someone to add to LeBron James, Danny Green, Anthony Davis, and JaVale McGee. The team needs to find the players who can fill the 45 minutes that Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo played on average.
Who will step up when LeBron James rests on the bench?
The starting role you can put Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. When he has started in place of Avery Bradley the Lakers have a 15-1 record. KCP averaged 11 points per game while shooting 51% from the field and 43% from three. In order to have success in the playoffs, KCP’s role will be important, as he will have some big responsibilities defensively as Avery Bradley had.
The other player that needs to be replaced at least until the end of the first round of the playoffs would be Rajon Rondo. After he injured his thumb the Lakers need to find someone who can come off the bench and lead the offense. Rondo is one of the few players in NBA history who increases the number of points, rebounds, and assists come playoff time, so his experience will also be missed.
Now, the player who could step up in this situation is Alex Caruso. He has had an outstanding season and even though he can’t assist like Rondo he is capable of bringing up the ball and lead the offense while LeBron James rests.
Now for filling the reminding minutes, the Lakers have three options.
They can play Quinn Cook, who has been with the team all year or play the recently signed Deion Waiters or J.R. Smith. Coach Frank Vogel can choose to increase minutes to the starters and some bench players, or play two of these players significant minutes.
The team will have 8 tough regular-season games to figure out the rotation properly for the playoffs.
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