Could Friday’s surprising starting lineup be the one the Lakers use against the Warriors to open the season?
It would be fair to assume that, after declaring Friday’s preseason finale as a dress rehearsal, the starting lineup in that contest would be the starting lineup when the regular season opens.
To that point, though, the lineup selected against the Kings was certainly surprising. The inclusion of Gabe Vincent was not one anyone expected, even despite his Steph Curry-like performance against the Mavs. However, Redick seemed to imply pregame that the lineup in this game would be the lineup on opening night.
To Vincent’s credit, he did continue his hot shooting on Friday, going 4-5 from beyond the arc. However, a starting lineup featuring him, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves would be a pretty small one, which is the concern most fans have.
After the game, Redick was asked if that lineup would indeed start against the Warriors on Tuesday but he remained intentionally coy about it.
There are few things coaches love more than protecting their starting lineups like they’re the nuclear codes.
To be fair, Redick was pretty open last season about his starting lineup coming into the season, making it clear early on who would be his starters. That also changed quickly once the season started.
Perhaps, then, Redick is more flexible coming into this season and will adjust his starting lineups based on matchups. Against the Warriors, this lineup might make sense as Vincent is a better defender and could be tasked with slowing down Curry. That, however, is always more of a theory than a reality that coaches ever live by.
The more likely scenario is that this is, indeed, the starting lineup the Lakers will use on opening night. In the short-term, if Vincent is shooting like he has in the last two preseason games, it’s a fine lineup to roll with.
Long term, it’s not a lineup that makes as much sense, though. Inserting someone like Marcus Smart or Jarred Vanderbilt who can defend bigger wings is the option that makes more sense.
Maybe Redick fools everyone and trots out a new lineup on opening night. He is right, though, that the lineups changed often last year, so it’s probably not something to get too bothered about.
