The Los Angeles Lakers have been highly successful in building a balanced roster in the current offseason. They have got a solid bunch of 14-member squad. With the depth in the bench, the LA side should not face any difficulty in making the postseason as they had in the previous season. Currently, they are focusing on the Training camp before the next season begins.
Lately, an NBA pundit, Darius Soriano, who writes for Lakers.com, suggested that both positions of starting point guard and power forward seem to be up in the air. Additionally, he hints that there will be a battle for the position of backup to Austin Reaves, the starting shooting guard. According to Darius Soriano, to be the backup of Austin Reaves, Max Christie, and Cam Reddish will battle it out in the training camp.
Max Christie And Cam Reddish Will Fight For The Backup Role To Austin Reaves
The Lakers selected Max Christie last year, who was the no. 35 pick from Michigan State. He is a 6’6 shooting guard. On the other hand, Cam Reddish was a former lottery pick. The Lakers signed Reddish this summer with a veteran’s maximum contract. He is a new 6’8 signing of the LA side. Moreover, Max Christie had the skills and potential to be an intriguing 3-and-D player. Later, the Lakers traded for more experienced reinforcements in the wing in the last midseason. Moreover, Max Christie is pretty good at three-point shooting and free-throw shooting. These numbers will tell a lot about his skill level. However, he does not have a promising average, as he scored 3.1 points per 12.5 minutes, along with 1.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists.
But he displayed good shooting skills on minimal output. However, Soriano praised Christie’s performance in the latest Summer League. He averaged 19 points in three games, along with 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.3 blocks. He handled the ball well during the pressure time on the defense. Meanwhile, the veteran Cam Reddish showed promise in his brief stints with the New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, and the Portland Trail Blazers. He has played in four professional seasons so far. Moreover, Reddish is just 24 at present. He is a pretty good rim-runner, solid in defense, and very athletic in the wing. Albeit, his shooting is not up to the mark, which makes him an awkward role player alongside the great shooting stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Lakers Highly Dependent On The James-Davis Duo As Usual
As usual, the 17-time champions will rely heavily on the LeBron James and Anthony Davis duo. But the James-Davis duo must perform in more than 60 games if the Lakers want to go the distance. The problem with the two stalwarts has been their game time throughout the seasons. In the last three seasons, these All-Star-level players have not played more than 60 games. That might be an essential reason why the Lakers have not reached the NBA finals since 2020.
However, everybody knows what this James-Davis duo can accomplish if they stay healthy. Hence, the Lakers are more or less certain about their starting lineup for the 2023-24 season. The popular opinion of the starting lineup might look like this – LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and D’Angelo Russell. Both Hachimura and Russell can find themselves on the bench. But only time can confirm that once the season starts.
