The Lakers’ role players have cemented them as championship contenders

From Dwight Howard to Kyle Kuzma to Alex Caruso, the Los Angeles Lakers’ non-star players have cemented them as a top title contender.

The Lakers look more like a LeBron James team now than they ever did during the 2018-19 season. Adding a second star in Anthony Davis was one thing, but general manager Rob Pelinka and his staff went even further, filling the rest of the roster with veterans that complement James. Yet even as Los Angeles rocketed to a 7-2 start, the full picture didn’t come into view until the return of Rajon Rondo on Tuesday in Phoenix.

Veterans such as Troy Daniels and Jared Dudley shuffled in and out of the rotation, Kyle Kuzma missed the first four games of the season, and Rondo hit the shelf late in the preseason with a calf injury. That meant unexpected contributors such as Quinn Cook and Alex Caruso were thrust into action more than expected.

Still, the Lakers kept winning. Their ability to take seven of their first 10 contests despite not knowing who will be on the court any given night makes their hot start all the more impressive, and should scare teams around the league who they may face in May and June.

This thing is far from operating at max capacity.

“We’re a work in progress,” head coach Frank Vogel admitted.

Rondo giveth and Rondo taketh away

With Rondo back in the lineup, Cook and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope saw a downtick in minutes, while the 33-year-old point guard filled up the box score with 5 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Rondo joined with the same lineup both times he took the court, playing alongside Caruso, James, Kuzma and Dwight Howard in a bench unit that suddenly looks interesting, especially with Davis instead of James.

Rondo’s return could help Vogel maximize lineups featuring just one of his two stars. The coach has staggered Davis and James quite a bit this year (the Lakers have played 490 possessions with only one on the floor compared to 516 with both) but the Lakers have really struggled offensively when James sits.

With James playing more like a point guard this year than ever, separating his minutes from Rondo’s could juice the offense in non-LeBron minutes and also tap into Rondo’s chemistry with Davis. Vogel has already shown a willingness to tinker with lineups and likely will keep doing so to figure out how to best use Rondo.

“He’s one of the best quarterbacks ever in terms of decision-making and running a team,” Vogel said. “I think it’s going to help whatever unit he’s in there with.”

It’s too early to declare Rondo a harbinger of rotation issues or someone who will ruin the Lakers’ awesome defense. At the very least, his teammates (especially James) love him, and Vogel has taken to him. As a part of the second unit, there are ways he can help the second-unit offense during the regular season.

Building confidence up and down the depth chart

Now that the injury report is clean, the Lakers will undoubtedly be glad they stockpiled some wins without Rondo or Kuzma. Though James hasn’t historically prioritized home-court advantage, it will be important in a stacked Western Conference. The early-season injury drama also thrust guys from the end of the bench into outsize roles, but they performed.

Take Cook, who came from Golden State in the offseason with no lack of shooting prowess but many questions about his defensive acumen. Teams have bullied him on occasion, but overall the Lakers have only allowed 105.1 points per 100 possessions with Cook on the court. Los Angeles won’t want to rely on him all year, but he helped keep them afloat and got valuable time on the floor.

“You have to step up,” Cook said. “That’s what makes our team so good, 1-15, even my two-way guys can step right in and try to keep up the slack. Obviously, you can’t replace a Kuz or a Rondo like how we started, but you just try to fill the void as much as possible.”

The lore of who James does and doesn’t trust probably exceeds the reality of it at this point, but nevertheless, we know his teams have always targeted veteran role players over youngsters.

“Certain stuff you have to delegate,” Dudley said on the Ryen Russillo Podcast this week. “As a parent or you’re a coach and you have to delegate stuff to your assistants, that’s how it is (for LeBron). LeBron’s like a coach.”

Aside from Kuzma, the Lakers are relying mostly on players in their 30s, and they’re getting bounce-back seasons from a number of veterans so far in 2019.

Left for dead after a miserable half-season with the Clippers, Bradley has been a key on defense and made a key extra pass to Kuzma in the corner late in the Lakers’ victory over the Suns. Howard, on his eighth team in nine seasons, is a Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Whether they keep up that high level of play or not, those guys are smarter, more consistent options than last year’s Lakers role players.

“Last year, knew it was part of the process,” Dudley said, “he knew that possibly they weren’t a championship team, but (he thought), how can I grow these guys? How can we get to the playoffs and give ourselves a chance? This year, it’s not about growing … but it’s this is the process of a championship, it’s a failure if we don’t win it.”

This isn’t the place to re-litigate “veteran leadership,” but going all-in by satisfying your legendary superstar and leader makes sense.

Who can the Lakers really count on?

The Dwight Howard Experience, Part II, has been nothing but positive for the Lakers. Howard has bought into his role as an elite rim-to-rim big man and moved on from dreams of post-ups.

So far.

Howard allows the Lakers to insulate Davis from playing too much center and has really helped their defense. Offensively, he brings continuity from JaVale McGee’s role in the starting lineup and sets strong screens for James. It’s fun to imagine what it would look like for superstar players to simplify their game and become elite role players, and we’re seeing it with Howard.

As Darius Soriano noted in a column at Silver Screen and Roll, the situation is perfect for Vogel. All he has to do is not rock the ship. Allowing McGee, a holdover from last season who has played well, to be the nominal starter, maintains continuity in the starting lineup. Howard has been the better player but is still in Earn It mode. Both are helping the team.

As a defense-first coach, Vogel likely prefers to play two bigs anyway, so keeping both engaged opens up more lineup options and keeps Davis fresh. Vogel has taken advantage, throwing tons of different groups onto the court to see what sticks. With Rondo back, Vogel’s rotation could start to firm up.

Then the matter of developing chemistry begins. These guys may be experienced, but many have never played together before.

“The whole first half of the season is going to be filled with new situations for our group,” Vogel said.

Vogel closed the game with Caruso, Avery Bradley, James, Kuzma and Davis against Phoenix, continuing a trend of finishing with Davis at center. That versatility and depth is a luxury few expected from the Lakers after DeMarcus Cousins was injured during training camp.

The Lakers have nine core rotation players right now: Rondo, Bradley, Caruso, Danny Green, James, Kuzma, Davis, McGee and Howard. Those are probably the guys we will see in the playoffs (perhaps minus Rondo).

Can that top nine win a championship? Probably.

But to win a top seed in the West, they will need depth during the regular season. Besides, random rotation players have a miraculous way of surprising in the playoffs. The plus side of targeting veteran players is that you can trust them to be ready at all times.

This isn’t an argument for the Lakers’ brand of team-building or the way James forces teams to bend to his will despite evidence it isn’t always for the best (see: the 2017-18 Cavaliers). The Lakers have a long way to go. But after going for broke in the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes, signing the crumbs leftover from a tasty free agency class, and the gut-punch of Cousins’ injury, it’s impressive to see the Lakers’ veteran role players come together so quickly.

Without them, the Lakers would not be in the championship discussion. From Howard to Kuzma to Caruso, the Lakers’ non-star players have cemented Los Angeles as a top title contender.

“All of us are confident,” Cook said. “Looking at the circumstances, obviously when we’re at full strength, I think we’re more confident, but that’s what makes everyone such a great player in here because we all have confidence in ourselves.”