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Do the Lakers Have a Top 3 Bench?
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venturalakersfan
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 8:15 am Post subject:

2019 wrote:

venturalakersfan wrote:

Quantity over quality. Rondo and Beasley would be positives. Better than most though not up to the GS standard. And unless you are playing for third place, that is the standard.

Are you talking this year's GS bench?

... as of now GS does not have a better bench.. they'd trade their bench in a heartbeat for ours

Iggy, Livingston, Bell and two starters? Better.
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VicXLakers
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 8:16 am Post subject:

Kuz makes it a top flight bench

venturalakersfan
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 8:29 am Post subject:

Aeneas Hunter wrote:

Okay, but what makes for a good bench? I agree with VLF that this is quantity over quality. I guess it might be a top 3 bench from a certain perspective, but I don't have a handy list of the benches around the league for comparison purposes.

It’s one thing if you believe there are 5 starters and 5 bench players but that really isn’t how the game is played.
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watchME
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 8:38 am Post subject:

VicXLakers wrote:

Kuz makes it a top flight bench

That should tell you he is not a bench player. I will be very dissapointed in management if they bench him in favor of ball & kcp who are both below average starters.

Inspector Gadget
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 8:48 am Post subject:

watchME wrote:

VicXLakers wrote:

Kuz makes it a top flight bench

That should tell you he is not a bench player. I will be very dissapointed in management if they bench him in favor of ball & kcp who are both below average starters.

Having a starter coming off the bench will make us into a better team.

Wildchild027
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:07 am Post subject:

It's likely Boston. They have four guys who can start, and be highly productive if a starter goes down. GSW doesn't have a great bench. Livingston is a guy that can only play about 15 minutes a game because of injuries, and Bell is just a guy. Iggy will be 35, and Golden State's death lineup took a significant step back last season.

Aeneas Hunter
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:08 am Post subject:

yinoma2001 wrote:

Aeneas Hunter wrote:

Some criteria in my head:

1. 6MOY capable players
2. able to fill in for starters in case of injuries
3. versatility and functionality.

Some teams have #1 (i.e. Houston, Clips, but may lack #2/3).

I think we excel in #2/3.

I just don't see it. We don't have a replacement level big man on the roster. We don't have specialists (shooters, defenders, whatever) on the bench. We have a couple kids and a bunch of guys who have been bouncing from team to team. I suppose that it could turn out to be an effective bench if everything clicks.

2019
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:13 am Post subject:

venturalakersfan wrote:

2019 wrote:

venturalakersfan wrote:

Quantity over quality. Rondo and Beasley would be positives. Better than most though not up to the GS standard. And unless you are playing for third place, that is the standard.

Are you talking this year's GS bench?

... as of now GS does not have a better bench.. they'd trade their bench in a heartbeat for ours

Iggy, Livingston, Bell and two starters? Better.

how are you including starters with the bench... sure they'll play together, but that's not the point. Excluding starting 5's... who has the best bench depth?

Be Ez > Jerebko
Kuz > Bell
Lance < Iggy
Hart > McCaw
Rondo > Lvingston

joeblow
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:15 am Post subject:

I actually think the Trailblazers have a decent bench: Meyers Leonard Al-Farouq Aminu Zach Collins Caleb Swanigan Seth Curry (when healthy) Not the best bench, but still decent.

PauPau
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:26 am Post subject:

diando wrote:

I just realised that we're talking about the bench, when we don't even know who's starting outside that guy in my signature.

Very very true. I'd put money on the bench on opening night being 2/3 players-different to the bench that we'll have 15 games into the seaaon.

joeblow
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:30 am Post subject:

You can fix that by picking the "weaker" player for each position and comparing them to other benches.

Laker's Fan
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:32 am Post subject:

yinoma2001 wrote:

Aeneas Hunter wrote:

That 1, 2, 3 is pretty much exactly how I thought of it. It's just so hard to know how things will unfold with this roster. Will it really become an advantage, or will it be the case of having two quarterbacks....(at every position). In Rondo, Hart, Beaz, Kuz and Lance, we have five players that could reasonably be back end starters in the NBA. I'm not sure there's another team that can say that.

Personally, I also think Hart is primed for a breakout season. He's already shown he's a good defender and a great finisher. If he's hitting his 3pt shot @ volume near or above 40%, he's jumping on the scene in a big way for 6th man. That's also a function of the increased profile the Lakers will have this season.
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watchME
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:43 am Post subject:

Inspector Gadget wrote:

watchME wrote:

VicXLakers wrote:

Kuz makes it a top flight bench

That should tell you he is not a bench player. I will be very dissapointed in management if they bench him in favor of ball & kcp who are both below average starters.

Having a starter coming off the bench will make us into a better team.

And having 2 non starters and mcgee in our starting line up will make us better too? we will get smoked before kuzma sees the floor.

Why GSW doesn’t bench durant? I mean they were winning rings without him. It is stupid. You start your best player unless that player is a liability on all aspects oher than scoring which kuz is not. Benches are overrated look at what happened to Toronto in the playoffs with the best bench. Dantoni cut his rotation to 7 players.. It will be easy to focus on lebron and see the offense struggle.

activeverb
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:49 am Post subject: Re: Do the Lakers Have a Top 3 Bench?

yinoma2001 wrote:

The Rondo/Lance/McGee/Beez ("Crazy Uncles") signings have been mocked by many. However, when you really dig deep, we secretly have one of the best bench units in the NBA, and a very deep roster.

Lonzo/Rondo
KCP/Hart
BI/Beez/Lance/Svi
LBJ/Kuz/Deng
McGee/Zub/Wagner

While having the best starters obviously matters, having a bench that can easily step up and fill in for an injured player (Lonzo missed 30+ games; BI missed 20+ games).

Also, we can rest players and especially during the Feb-March stretch when things start getting tedious, we'd have guys who are fresher than most teams.

Our bench depth is an underrated strength of this team and something that people are sleeping on while they stay glued to mocking the Crazy Uncles. I think they will be a handful for most teams this year.

I think we'll have a good bench. I don't know that there's really all that good of a way to rank the quality of benches, though. A lot seems to depend on the team's specific needs more so than some general standard.

I am not sure that "resting" guys during February and March matters all that much in the long run. People have all sorts of theories on how many minutes guys should play, but there doesn't seem to be a strong basis for much of the reasoning. The notion that we are going to play a lot of guys 25 minutes each, run all the time, and exhaust other teams seems dubious to me.

When things really matter, the best guys will play, and depth becomes an afterthought.

yinoma2001
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:51 am Post subject: Re: Do the Lakers Have a Top 3 Bench?

activeverb wrote:

yinoma2001 wrote:

Depth is important during the regular season. My point is we are legitimately 2 deep at each position (with center being our weakest).

We were decimated last year when BI/Lonzo went out with injuries. This year, less of a blow due to our depth.
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activeverb
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:57 am Post subject:

watchME wrote:

VicXLakers wrote:

Kuz makes it a top flight bench

That should tell you he is not a bench player. I will be very dissapointed in management if they bench him in favor of ball & kcp who are both below average starters.

Ball and Kuz are coming off their rookie season, where their performance and stats were influenced by the overall poor quality of the team. It's too early to declare how good either of them is, in my opinion. By many statistic measures, you could argue the Lakers didn't have a single above-average starter last year

Other than Lebron, everyone on this team is competing for a starter's job and playing time.

audioaxes
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 10:09 am Post subject:

watchME wrote:

VicXLakers wrote:

Kuz makes it a top flight bench

That should tell you he is not a bench player. I will be very dissapointed in management if they bench him in favor of ball & kcp who are both below average starters.

well Kuzma is not a guard at all and neither Lebron nor BI should be chasing around guards so Kuzma can start.

And besides Kuzma would thrive more in that 6th man role where he will have more freedom to operate instead of having to fight for touches in a lineup where Lebron and BI are the #1 and #2 options.
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brock
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 10:25 am Post subject:

watchME wrote:

VicXLakers wrote:

Kuz makes it a top flight bench

That should tell you he is not a bench player. I will be very dissapointed in management if they bench him in favor of ball & kcp who are both below average starters.

Ball is anything but a below average starter...

Kava
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 10:27 am Post subject:

Aeneas Hunter wrote:

yinoma2001 wrote:

Aeneas Hunter wrote:

Why do folks think we don't have enough shooting? Off the bench Kuz, Beas, Hart, SVI/Wagner are more than capable.

We are missing a big man/def anchor off the bench which I agree with but Zub/Wagner may surprise this season. HOW-EVA, Rondo/Hart will absolutely shut down most 2nd string backcourts in the league.

Hellspawn
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 11:09 am Post subject:

PICKnPOP wrote:

Best bench in the NBA imo

Feel like we have two starting lineups

Lonzo 28/rondo 20 /Caruso
KCP 24/hart 24/svi
Ingram 28/lance 16/Kuzma 4/wear
bron 24/Kuzma 18/Beasley 6
Javale 24/Bron 6/kuz 6/ beasely 12/zu/Wagner

We have a lot of talent at our forward positions and I believe They will all spend time as our small ball 5. I feel like zubac and Wagner will only play situationally against certain teams or injury.

We should all be fresh going into playoffs

Nice post, that is kind of what I was thinking. I can see more minutes swinging back and forth between Rondo/Ball, and I am hoping for more Svi and Wagner and less Lance and Javale.

dao
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 11:33 am Post subject:

It seems like either Stephenson or Beasley will be left out of the rotation. Rondo Hart Lance/Beasley Kuzma Zubac There's not a ton of shooting on this unit, particularly if Lance is the SF. If we wanted a maximally effective offensive unit, you could throw out a shooting lineup... Rondo Svi Hart Kuzma Beasley Does Beasley have any experience playing small ball center? He's 6'10, 235...maybe he can pull it off.

yinoma2001
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 11:39 am Post subject:

dao wrote:

It seems like either Stephenson or Beasley will be left out of the rotation.

Rondo
Hart
Lance/Beasley
Kuzma
Zubac

There's not a ton of shooting on this unit, particularly if Lance is the SF. If we wanted a maximally effective offensive unit, you could throw out a shooting lineup...

Rondo
Svi
Hart
Kuzma
Beasley

Does Beasley have any experience playing small ball center? He's 6'10, 235...maybe he can pull it off.

Well, there may be some hockey subs but I think bench guys will also be intermingled with starters.
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dao
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 11:42 am Post subject:

yinoma2001 wrote:

dao wrote:

Well, there may be some hockey subs but I think bench guys will also be intermingled with starters.

Luke has used hockey subs in the past two years so I just assumed he will continue. But yeah, he might change it up now. We'll see. But I don't really love the spacing in the expected 5 man second unit.

yinoma2001
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 11:43 am Post subject:

dao wrote:

yinoma2001 wrote:

dao wrote:

Well, there may be some hockey subs but I think bench guys will also be intermingled with starters.

Yeah, which is why I think they will be intermingled.

I think Beez is going to get time. He's really improved from what people remember him as. Watched him on the Knicks a bit last year.

Someone isn't going to be happy with their PT. I think that will be Lance.
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greenfrog
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 11:46 am Post subject:

I'll take a wild stab and say benching the entire unit because of one or two individuals defensive lapses won't be the policy anymore.

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