Meet the two improbable starters on the Los Angeles Lakers

Entering the 2021-22 season, after the Russell Westbrook trade, the big question for the Los Angeles Lakers was who was going to be the two starters next to LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Westbrook? Is Frank Vogel going to go with two big men as he did in the last two years? Are they gonna put two shooters around the three? Is AD going to start at center as he promised to play more of the role in the summer? Are they going to rely on defensive specialists?’

Midway through the season, the question remains unanswered, as LeBron James pointed out a few weeks ago in a post-game interview. Injuries and COVID have been a major reason for not defining a clear rotation. With guys missing night in and night out it has not been an easy job for head coach Frank Vogel, but also players falling short of expectations and some questionable decisions of the coaching staff played a role in the lack of continuity. And so we can count as of now 13 different starters through the season and still not a defined rotation established.

However, in the turmoil that has been running through the Lakers this season, two players have emerged as long-term starting candidates. Two players who were not supposed to be on the team in the first place.

With the atrocious job made by the Lakers to protect their basket early in the season and as of late, the emphasis to find complementary pieces to the big three has obviously been on defense. Putting defensive specialists in the starting lineup has been the general priority, given the fair number of shooters coming off the bench.

Meet the two improbable starters for the Los Angeles Lakers:

As a godsend, two-time All-Defensive Team Avery Bradley made his way to Los Angeles for his second stint as a Laker.

After fighting for a roster spot with a non-guaranteed contract in the Golden State Warriors‘ training camp, Bradley was waived by the San Francisco-based team right before the start of the season in favor of Gary Payton II, not without causing some controversy, with team leaders Stephen Curry and Draymond Green not agreeing with the front office’s decision and wishing for the veteran to be retained.

The Lakers, in need of some placeholder to replace the injured players on the roster, claimed him off waivers just a day before the season opener, supposed to be a temporary fix until the missing ones returned available. But Avery never left LA and in his seventh game, he relinquished a starting spot he never let go as well.

The deadline to waive him without owing him any money passed and his contract became guaranteed, meaning he will be on the team for the rest of the season.

Upon receiving an up and down playing time in the first few games, Bradley was entrusted the started role as he brought the toughness and intensity on the defensive end that the starting lineup (and, let’s be honest, the whole team) was lacking.

More importantly, he understood this is what keeps him on the floor and so he never stopped putting his maximum effort on defense, even when his offensive role increased as he grew accustomed to the team and the schemes throughout the games, relentlessly haunting his man with energy and intensity. As good as his offense might become, his role requires him first and foremost to be that defensive presence that often takes the best opponent assignment or helps the team defense on the perimeter. That is what allowed him to earn a contract and remain on the team.

Then, there is the only good thing that came out of the COVID outbreak for the Lakers. With half the roster in Health and Safety Protocols, the team, much like the rest of the league, had to resort to multiple call-ups from their G League affiliate, giving players 10-day contracts through a hardship exemption granted by the league. Among these South Bay players, there was Stanley Johnson, former lottery pick last seen in a Toronto Raptors uniform last season.

MUST-READ: Stanley Johnson is the next great Lakers forward

Johnson immediately impressed in his debut with his lockdown defense on James Harden in the Christmas game. So much that he earned a lot of playing time in the following games, even when full roster players returned from protocols. He also received the starting job, coinciding with a good stretch for the Lakers.

Coming from the G League on a 10-day contract, there was nothing guaranteed for him. Stanley would have probably served his 10 days and then be returned to South Bay once the others would be cleared from protocols. He had to prove something in order to secure the job in the superior league and he did it. With his defensive energy and quickness, he managed to stick around and secure a spot on the roster.

After a successful run as a starter, he recently lost the job to Trevor Ariza, but in the win against the Utah Jazz, it was him on the floor in crunch time, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter and finishing with a season-high 15. Even in the loss to the Indiana Pacers, he was one of the few Lakers with a positive plus/minus, while Ariza’s contribution amounted to 0 points and -6.

Against the Orlando Magic on Friday he scored 11 points on 3-for-4 from the arc. Stanley is effectively a reliable shot away to be a starting-caliber player. When his shot falls in, his plus/minus skyrockets.

It is obvious at this point that Johnson deserves to regain the starting spot, but we cannot expect anything, given the shameful treatment he is receiving with three consecutive 10-day contracts instead of a guaranteed one when, in addition, a questionable move to open a roster spot has already been done.

At the start of the season, thinking of Bradley and Johnson as possible starters of a team looked really unlikely and laughable, given their situation. They did not even have an NBA team and the G League looked like the only possible outcome for them. to much surprise of anyone, they went from unemployed to starters in a matter of days, doing a heck of a job for the struggling Lakers.