3 players who could break into Lakers starting lineup

No. 1 player who could break into Lakers starting lineup: Gabe Vincent

The Lakers are expected to start D’Angelo Russell, who assumed the mantle after the trade deadline last season. Russell’s numbers in the regular season are hard to argue with — he averaged in 17.4 points and 6.1 assists on helpfully efficient .484/.414/.735 splits in 17 games with Los Angeles. Russell is paid more annually than any other Lakers guard and he carries with him the status of a former No. 2 pick.

That said, we all remember what happened with Russell in the playoffs. He completely flopped, to the point where Dennis Schroder was the exclusive starting point guard once the final game in the Denver series arrived. Russell is a prolific pick-and-roll shot creator, but he’s also a singularly bad defender who doesn’t always prioritize the best shots within the offense.

Los Angeles essentially paid Russell for name recognition alone. It’s hard to imagine a robust market clamoring to pay Russell north of $17 million annually after the last couple seasons. He was initially not expected to re-sign in Los Angeles, but in the absence of traction elsewhere the Lakers brought him back.

Gabe Vincent will essentially operate as the Dennis Schroder replacement in LA. He signed an affordable contract after a successful stint as Miami’s starting point guard, which saw him playing critical minutes in the NBA Finals. Vincent doesn’t have the flashy regular season numbers to combat Russell (9.4 points and 2.5 assists on .402/.334/.872 splits), but he does have the postseason track record and all-around skill set to out-achieve Russell when the games start to count.

Vincent suffers the same roadblocks as any 6-foot-3 guard, but he’s a better defender than most players with his positional restriction. He developed a certain toughness and competitive I.Q. under Erik Spoelstra in Miami and it translated to the postseason, where Vincent was frequently making winning plays on both ends. He can get red-hot from 3 and he’s far more comfortable than Russell moving and operating without the ball. The same skills that made him click with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo should make him click with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Let’s call it a safe bet that Vincent will be the Lakers’ most reliable postseason contributor at point guard. Whether the Lakers get that far, or if Darvin Ham reaches that epiphany before the playoffs arrive, is another question entirely. All that being said, it’s not difficult to imagine a timeline in which Vincent takes Russell’s spot or even joins Russell in a two-guard starting lineup.