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The Lakers starting lineup has four seats confirmed, and the fifth spot will be chosen from three. The 6+3 forward may become a dark horse.

5:22pm, 11 October 2025Basketball

Obviously, James is injured and is expected to miss the opening stages of the game, which seems to be a bit of a surprise to both the Lakers and fans. After all, the regular season is about to begin. Although James is old, he still has All-Star level strength. His absence this time will probably have an impact on the Lakers, both in terms of overall combat strength and running-in.

Now even if James is injured, the Lakers' starting lineup still has four seats, including Doncic, Reeves, Hachimura and Ayton. As for the fifth spot, it is a matter of choosing one of three. Smart, Vanderbilt and Laravia are all likely to enter the starting lineup.

Smart was bought out by the Wizards this summer, and then accepted Doncic's recruitment and became a member of the Lakers. At his peak, Smart may have been like a weakened version of Holiday. Although he was a genius on the offensive end, his outside shooting was very unstable, and his organization and passing control was average for a guard, his defense was really strong and he even won a DPOY award. Smart's biggest problem is that he has suffered injuries in the past two years, and even his professional attitude has been questioned. Therefore, Smart's ability to recover to almost 10% of his condition is crucial to the Lakers, and it directly determines his playing time, including whether he can compete for the starting position.

Vanderbilt has actually played for the Lakers in the past few years, but his situation is somewhat similar to Smart's, that is, he is also trapped by injuries, and he is stronger on defense than offense on the court because he really has no range and even seems to drag space. In fact, during the first two games of the preseason, the Lakers changed their lineup and allowed Vanderbilt to return to the starting lineup, which was considered to have some tacit understanding and chemical reaction. Vanderbilt can indeed make up for the defensive weaknesses of Doncic and Reeves on the court, but the problem is also obvious, that is, his offense is really bad, especially outside the three-point line, and he may be directly let go by his opponents.

On the contrary, forward Jack Laravia, who just joined the Lakers this summer, may become a dark horse in this competition. As a first-round pick in 2022, Laravia performed poorly with the Grizzlies. It was not until he was sent to the Kings in the second half of last season that he got more opportunities to perform. In terms of statistics, Laravia averaged 6.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. In fact, he was not particularly outstanding, but he showed his potential as a high-quality 3D player. Moreover, Laravia is under 24 years old. In other words, in the next few years, he may spend the peak period of his career with the Lakers, and he will definitely be reused.

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