Next Men Up: Which Lakers Will Rise to the Occasion?

The scrimmages are over and the resumption of the season is here. For the Lakers, they’ll be without their defensive specialist Avery Bradley, as well as back-up playmaker Rajon Rondo (at least until the playoffs begin). 

Bradley is sitting out because of concerns with COVID-19 and his son who has previously experienced complications with his respiratory health. Rondo, who came to the bubble ready to go (having also put on more muscle), fractured his thumb during practice and can return to basketball in 6 to 8 weeks after the surgery he had. 

With them being out, the Lakers find themselves asking: who is the next man up? Who’s going to step up off the bench? Which Lakers should automatically be considered viable options to fill in the gaps on the roster?

Two players that come to mind are Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. 

Alex Caruso has been a standout all season and no, not just because of the Bald Mamba memes. When he’s on the floor with LeBron James, basketball magic ensues. The duo has put up an incredible net rating of +20.8 in their time on the court together, which would be the toast of the league. 

Aside from that, we’ve seen Caruso put up some terrific dunks this season that got everyone excited. When he hasn’t been able to score, he affects the game in different ways, including on the defensive end. His improvement on the less glamorous end of the court will come in handy with the absence of perimeter stopper Avery Bradley.

Here's an example of Caruso performing a perfect box-out on Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo: 

In this very sharp video compilation, we see exactly how defensive-minded the 26-year-old guard has become: 

In the Lakers’ final scrimmage game against the Washington Wizards, Caruso had 17 points, five rebounds, six assists, and three steals. 

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has had a whirlwind of a 2019-2020 campaign. In the first couple months of the season, he was in a shooting slump and very inconsistent overall. Lakers fans voiced their frustrations with him via social media - apparently, to great effect.

Caldwell-Pope eventually flipped the switch and started becoming more reliable. While Avery Bradley was out for a stretch of games during the season, he was inserted into the starting lineup. The Lakers ended up going 17-3 in those twenty games. His efficiency averages are higher this year than in previous seasons, shooting 39% from three with a 47% field-goal percentage.

In order for the Lakers to win, Caldwell-Pope needs to score, or at least contribute with spacing and defense. When he gets hot from the field, he can put on a clinic: in the recent scrimmage game against the Orlando Magic, he scored 17 points and made seven of eight shots from the field.

Here are some highlights from that dazzling performance:

Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope both know they will need to bring their A-game if the Lakers hope to achieve their championship aspirations. With a mixture of Caruso’s stout defense and Caldwell-Pope’s improved shooting, the Lakers can appear damn-near unbeatable. Opposing teams will not necessarily expect both players to contribute heavily, so the opportunity is there for both to shine all the way through to the Finals. 

Of course, other players will need to contribute too. Judging from the scrimmages, Dion Waiters and J.R. Smith (otherwise known as 'Swish Cheese') are both ready and raring to go. 

Statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference