THE OTHER GUYS ARE THE KEY FOR THE LAKERS

WRITTEN + EDITED BY JORDYN BONTRAGER

Let’s get one thing straight: the trio of LeBron James x Luka Doncic x Austin Reaves are far and away the most important ingredients within JJ Redick’s recipe for success. James and Doncic are perennial All-NBA caliber players, and Reaves could realistically reach that level as soon as next season if he continues on his trending trajectory (24.2 PPG x 5.6 APG-2.5 TOPG x 5.3 RPG x 1.0 SPG x 0.5 BPG x 48.2% FG x 36.5% 3FG x 94.3% FT in 13x games this month).

Since Luka’s relocation to La La Land, the Lakers have overcome a few sloppy showings + some minor injury issues on their surge to the #4 spot in today’s Western Conference standings. With only 18x contests remaining on the regular season calendar, it will be critical for the (NBA’s best?) Big 3 to keep it’s cohesive chemistry clicking. If the tremendous trifecta continues to build on the collective success they’ve shared so far and carries that momentum into the postseason, everybody should be avoiding the purple and gold as the playoff picture becomes more clear.

But if this team inevitably hoists Larry O’Brien into the atmosphere it will be a result of the other guys showing up when the lights get brighter.

Rui Hachimura, who has easily been this team’s steadiest outside shooter for the past 2x seasons (plus the postseason preceding them), must continue canning shots at a high clip (41.8% 3FG this year on a career high 4.1 attempts/game) while simultaneously aiding his fellow frontcourt friends on the boards. Aside from that, the product of Japan must continue providing quality effort defensively when tasked with spot minutes guarding premier opposing scorers while Dorian Finney-Smith x Jarred Vanderbilt are on the bench.

DFS has been a revelation since coming on board back in late December, and his ability to effectively hold his own defensively versus virtually any opposing scoring threat will make a world of difference come playoff time. However, he must re-discover the shooting acumen which he was unleashing in Brooklyn before his acquisition (37.5% from deep on 4.4 attempts/game with the Lakers vs. 43.5% from deep on 5.4 attempts/game with the Nets). It is safe to assume that he is getting more open looks now as opposed to then, and he has even been noted on record referencing the spacing convenience which accompanies partnering with LBJ x Doncic x AR on the court.

Rui Hachimura says he, Gabe Vincent and Dorian Finney-Smith talked after the game about how many wide open looks they are getting because of the attention on Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves.

— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) March 30, 2025

Most folks did not want to believe it when the dust settled from the trade deadline and Jaxon Hayes was the last man standing for this team’s starting center spot. And if most folks did not want to believe that, than NOBODY wanted to believe it when Hayes rattled off a roughly month’s long stretch as the league’s best defensive center. The athletic freak has long been known for producing some of the game’s most polarizing punches on the offensive end, but it was never really until recently that his physical gifts started building his reputation as an anchor of resistance. But in order for himself to take the next step in his own development, he must become a more profound presence on the glass. That same criteria holds true in order for his team to achieve it’s overall aspiration.

Once upon a time, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Gabe Vincent was on his way out the door. After the injury bug kept him in street clothes for all but 11x (super subpar) games in his inaugural SZN as a Laker, most (if not all) Lakers fans were ready to pull the plug on his tenure in Tinseltown. But following the heatwave which he has exhibited throughout the month of March (43.8% from distance on 5.3 attempts/game), Rob Pelinka’s patience with Vincent makes perfect sense. You already know his in-your-grill style of D on the perimeter is not going anywhere anytime soon, but he must also ride this wave of confidence (he is currently shooting with absolutely ZERO hesitation) on into the title push if his team is going to come home with any hardware.

Jarred Vanderbilt has one job and one job only for this team: wreak havoc. The Lakers have benefitted immensely from Vando’s return in late January, prevailing victorious in 20 of his 29 appearances thus far. He is always seemingly everywhere on defense, whether that be at the point of attack torturing a ballhandler to the tune of full court pressure or scrapping + clawing on the boards or diving on the ground for loose balls (and so on and so forth). This team does not require much more from him than those aforementioned contributions, but he must also remain ready for a potential uptick in minutes at Center as the team continues experimenting with different small ball units.

There is no questioning that Dalton Knecht has tapered off considerably since resembling a Rookie of the Year frontrunner in the preliminary phase of the SZN (averaged 13.6 PPG on sizzling shooting splits of 50.7% FG x 46.0% 3FG x 83.3% FT in the month of November). Regardless, the 23-year-old has been borderline excellent this year when he has been in the rotation, and you gotta give the dude credit for the way he handled his first NBA trade deadline terrors. JJ Redick has *inexplicably* relegated him to garbage duty over the past 5x games, which is odd behavior considering Knecht is putting up 10.8 PPG on 47.8% from the field + 42.0% from beyond the arc across 16x games played in March. Regardless of his role within the rotation (or his skipper’s rationale for said role), the rook must remain ready for when his number is called.

There’s really not much to nitpick in terms of any negative aspects connected to Jordan Goodwin’s game. A fierce competitor, the 6’4” wing has earned his stripes (and rightful place on the official roster) via his hard-nosed methods crashing the boards (let us not forget that he averaged 8.0 RPG across 17x games with the Grizzlies last season) x defensive disruptiveness (1.1 SPG + 0.5 BPG this season, which may seem average at a glance but watch his highlights and you will witness his non-statistical dominance on D) x intelligent ball control (career 2.5 APG vs. 0.9 TOPG). Goodwin must maintain his magnificent output in these manners (he will) in order to stay ON the court in the postseason (he should), and if he continues drilling over 40% of his triples (currently hitting 42% of his 2.4 attempts.game) than keeping him OFF the court is going to become a chore for ole Mr. Redick.

The coaching staff has not really displayed any type of cemented confidence in any of the team’s other pieces off the pine, but it is just as essential for each and every one of them to remain ready as it is for each and every guy who has already been detailed above.

Jaxon Hayes gets about 20 minutes of run/night + you cannot ALWAYS turn to small ball lineups with one of LBJ, Hachimura, DFS, or Vando manning the 5. That means that Maxi Kleber (who is set for re-evaluation this week and could be back on the court soon), Alex Len/Trey Jemison/Christian Koloko (whichever of the trio the team decides to keep for the postseason) and Markieff Morris must be prepared for war down low in the trenches when it matters most. Kleber is the logical candidate for the part given his experience playing with Luka and ability to stretch the floor (career 35.5% from distance on a moderate 3.1 attempts/game), and the hope is that he gets back to action soon so that he can knock off some inevitable rust and find his rhythm playing with a new set of teammates.

Shake Milton (who once upon a time was teammates with JJ Redick in Philadelphia) may not be a major factor in the regular rotation, but you could do a whole lot worse than parking a veteran combo guard of his nature at the end of your bench. He is not spectacular in any single area of the game on either side of the floor, but he is solid all-around and has crafted a reputation of secondary scoring + playmaking . Blending him with Bronny James (who has run laps around G League competition as a 20-year-old rookie) as your break-in-case-of-emergency backcourt options aint too shabby on the surface. But if certain circumstances arise that require their presence on the floor, the deep bench duo MUST. BE. READY. to prove themselves capable of coping with heightened stakes.

At the end of the day, we know what we are going to get from the Big 3 every night barring any unforeseen circumstances along the way. Those unforeseen + inevitable circumstances will thrust the supporting cast into elevated responsibility in different moments. Whether they can deliver or not in those impending scenarios will be the ultimate determinant for this team’s overall outcome when we reflect on the 2024-2025 NBA season.

Here is to hoping that they can + will come through.

¡LAKESHOW!