Lakers’ depth is paying off this preseason with all the injuries

Hey everyone, it’s Dan Woike, beat writer for the L.A. Times. Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, the time of the week when I am honored to be inside of inboxes next to your favorite brands and the mailing lists you totally forgot you signed up for.

As we head to the regular season (the next edition of this newsletter will drop just as the Lakers get ready to open in Denver), I was struck by an unusual sight Sunday night in what was my first game this season at Crypto.com Arena.

I’ll explain what was on my mind.

Properly handed

It was strange to see the fans in the building buzzing ahead of a preseason game, especially considering the excitement had little to do with the Lakers.

By Sunday, the Lakers had already played four games and that night, in their fifth, they’d be without four of their top eight players due to a combination of rest and injury.

No, the excitement in Los Angeles on Sunday had to do with the opponent, the Milwaukee Bucks, who unveiled their new star duo for the first time to the public.

The first pick-and-roll play with Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo earned tweets and its own Reddit thread. The space Antetokounmpo had to operate made it seem like a 60% shooting season could be doable. And Lillard? The perimeter was all his, the ability to calmly pick-and-choose spots on every possession.

So why should you, Lakers fan, care about any of this?

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Because with LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent all out, the Lakers looked perfectly competitive in the half they played with their remaining regulars, a testament to the depth the team built in the summer and at the trade deadline last season.

Speaking with scouts and executives who watched the Lakers-Bucks game, multiple people remarked that the Lakers didn’t look short-handed against the Bucks, who were without Khris Middleton, that the absences particularly of James and Reaves gave way to a big-time half for Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell.

Asked postgame about Davis’ aggression and whether there was a target number of field-goal attempts, coach Darvin Ham pointed to the Lakers’ depth while still keeping the door open for Davis to dominate.

“That’s a tough question because we have so much offensive firepower now and the ability now to have scoring come in from various sources,” he said. “I wouldn’t necessarily put a number on it because it can vary from night to night. Obviously we’re going to go to him and try to make him the foundation of our offense and start with him and attacking the paint, but when you look at ‘Bron and AR or DLo, Taurean [Prince], Rui [Hachimura], as long as we play the right way, it doesn’t matter who gets the most shots.

“I just want us playing the right way, playing with the pass and allowing each other to shine. And it just makes us that much stronger.”

Forward Taurean Prince, getting physical with Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo as he tries to drive to the basket Sunday, is a possible fifth starter for the Lakers.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

One of the lesser discussed storylines coming out of last season’s turnaround was the Lakers’ selflessness by creating a roster with multiple options. It allowed the team’s stars to cede some control of the offense, primarily to Reaves, to give them a more balanced attack than the isolation-heavy style they’d settled into during the James-Davis-Russell Westbrook era.

While the team can still go to that when necessary, the way they played in the first half against the Bucks — finding the best mismatches, swinging the ball to open shooters and running in transition — seems much more sustainable.

Milwaukee won the game Sunday and their stars were undoubtedly the biggest story. That the outmanned Lakers weren’t anywhere close to being eclipsed was notable — and as the team gets healthier in the week before the start of the season, their depth will only look more impressive.

Who’s the starter?

The Lakers have named 80% of their starting lineup, with Reaves and Russell in the backcourt and James and Davis obviously written in Sharpie up front. The fifth spot hasn’t been announced as of yet, and the situation is a little murky thanks to Vanderbilt’s heel injury.

Confidence that he’d be ready for the opener got a bit of a downgrade Sunday when Ham said, “We’ll see.” Vanderbilt is scheduled to be reevaluated on Friday.

That would seemingly open the door for Taurean Prince to be the fifth starter, giving the Lakers a shooter to pair with the group. Prince has made 47.8%from deep this preseason.

The downside, of course, means Vanderbilt isn’t out there to take on the primary perimeter defensive assignment. That would then likely fall to Reaves, who is also expected to do more on offense this season.

The calculus is a little tricky — though it’ll be easier if Vanderbilt is unavailable.

The good news, internally at least, is that no one is worried about it.

“Does it really matter?” one player told The Times.

The belief is in their depth, their chemistry and the system. The rest, the Lakers say, is kinda interchangeable.

Song of the week

“Hangover Game” — MJ Lenderman

Forget “Roundball Rock,” this guitar-driven track about the possible culprit behind Michael Jordan’s 1997 Game 5 Finals flu has me ready for some basketball.

In case you missed it

Anthony Davis looks sharp in Lakers’ preseason loss to Bucks

‘Just working on the approach’: How Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell is improving his defense

D’Angelo Russell leads Lakers to exhibition win over Kings

Lakers coach Darvin Ham wants Anthony Davis to take more three-pointers

LeBron James and Austin Reaves give Lakers offense a boost in win over Nets

Lakers-Warriors takeaways: Anthony Davis is aggressive in limited minutes