LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are fully underway in 2019 NBA training camp and with their first preseason game coming up on Oct. 5 against the Golden State Warriors, they’ll need to start thinking of some preliminary lineup combinations.
With the only certainties being that James, Anthony Davis, and likely Danny Green will start, head coach Frank Vogel can learn a ton from watching his team practice.
When it comes to rotations, there are many different ways the Lakers could go in distributing minutes. So far in practice, it’s become clear that both centers — JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard — have played well while Avery Bradley has impressed everybody.
What this means for a starting lineup is unsure, but it means the Lakers will have a ton to work with.
James spoke about the many different lineup changes the Lakers could play around with, saying they have the personnel to be able to do things like that.
“We have so many different lineup packages that we can probably go to throughout the course of the season, so we’re just trying out a few things now in practice — going with smaller lineups, going with bigger lineups, going with quicker lineups, going with slower lineups,” James said of the team’s roster.
“But that’s the luxury of having our personnel. We have the ability to do multiple things, so that’s what practice is all about. Being able to work on those things.”
When asked about the position James will play (especially after the initial reports that he may be the team’s starting point guard), he said that he doesn’t need to play one particular position. “It doesn’t matter to me. I do whatever it takes for us to win, so it doesn’t matter. I’m a ballplayer,” James said referring to his rangy skill set.
“I’m not a point guard, I’m not a shooting guard, a small forward, power forward or a center. I’m just a ballplayer. You put me on the floor and I can make things happen with whoever is on the floor, so I’m just looking forward to getting out there with my teammates because it’s exciting. It’s fun.”
When the preseason begins, Kyle Kuzma will still be out with a stress reaction in his ankle, meaning he will not be able to find a place in these rotations just yet.
His likeliest role maybe being the team’s sixth man who gets nearly all of the fourth quarter minutes, similar to what Lou Williams does with the Los Angeles Clippers.
