Put Carmelo Anthony into the starting rotation:

LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis are obviously the Los Angeles Lakers’ best pure talents, but their best player so far this season may be Carmelo Anthony.

The future Hall-of-Fame forward has been terrific in his “Sixth-Man” role with the Lakers and coming off the bench in all eight games so far this year, Melo has averaged 16.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and has shot 52.9% from three-point range. 

For his career, Melo has shot 35.5% from deep and he shot well from deep in Portland last year, but the three-point shot has never really been a key factor to Carmelo Anthony’s game. He has always dissected his opponents in the mid-range territory and is one of the best jump shooters in NBA history, so it is quite intriguing to see his evolution of play change with that of the league. 

When the Lakers have needed a basket this season, Carmelo has stepped up time and time again for this group and he’s not only fourth on the team in scoring right now, but he has the third most points off the bench in the league this season, trailing just Tyler Herro (Heat) and Buddy Hield (Kings). 

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Having a scorer they can bring into the game off the bench is key, but at the same time, the Los Angeles Lakers need another player in their starting unit who can score at any point in the game.

Kent Bazemore is averaging 7.4 points and has been good to begin the season, but since the Lakers have moved AD to the center position and played with a more “small-ball” approach, this 5th spot in the starting lineup has been “up for grabs” between guys like Avery Bradley and Malik Monk. 

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Now, with James expected to miss some time, Carmelo should absolutely get the nod in the Lakers’ starting rotation and have someone else step up into a “Sixth-Man” role for them, who we will touch on shortly.