Copyright Lake Show Life
Injuries are never an aspect of basketball that teams will enjoy navigating, but look hard enough and there is usually a silver lining to be found in those types of situations. For the Los Angeles Lakers, that will come in the form af an open competition between Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Jake LaRavia. With no Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Gabe Vincent, or Marcus Smart available in the Lakers' last matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers, JJ Redick was tight on options. The second-year head coach rolled out Hachimura, Vanderbilt, and LaRavia alongside Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton as his five starters. That right there was the open audition commencing for Los Angeles. The game against the Blazers was lost 122-108, but the Lakers got their opportunity to evaluate the players in question with a larger sample size at play. As hard as it may be to believe right now, there should be a point in the future when the Lakers have the majority of their rotational options available. When they do, this challenging stretch can be looked back upon as a gift that offered them insight they may have otherwise never had. Injuries have turned Lakers rotation into an unexpected proving ground Hachimura enters the equation here with the leg up on everyone else. The Lakers forward has been a starter consistently under Redick, and even before then. That is also where Rui has previously hinted his preference to be. The value of having Hachimura with the starters showed itself within the first few games of the season too, while Doncic was still around. In the Lakers' dominant 128-110 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Rui's off-ball talents were on clear display for everyone. Hachimura was moving well, finding openings, and positioning himself to be the recipient of his star teammates' playmaking. That led to 23 points with very healthy shooting of 10-of-13 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Hachimura will be a tough man to unseat from his position, but there is reason to believe the other two in this competition can do it. Vanderbilt offers the most upside on the defensive end of the three players discussed here. A healthy offseason has quickly reminded the Lakers just how great their athletic forward can be on that end. When at full health, the Lakers' biggest flaw in a starting lineup that features Hachimura and the other four players one would expect is point of attack defense. That is largely where the case is built for Vanderbilt to start. The Lakers forward has to prove there is enough value to be found with his offense as well. Vanderbilt's efficient 14-point outing against the Blazers was a good start. LaRavia keeps himself relevant in this discussion by offering, arguably, the best combination on both sides of the basketball. The Lakers wing is a reliable defender and should be a strong complementary piece on offense. The slow start with his new team is certainly not doing any favors though.
