When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Brook Lopez over the summer, common thought held that he’d serve as the perfect frontcourt complement to Julius Randle, with his ability to space the floor opening up driving lanes for Randle to bulldoze his way to the rim.
That theoretical vision didn’t come to pass early on, with Lakers head coach Luke Walton electing to first start Larry Nance Jr. alongside Lopez and then going to Kyle Kuzma when Nance was hurt. All while mainly using Randle as the team’s primary backup center.
Walton’s decision making nearly paid off.