The Los Angeles Lakers’ plan to rest some of their healthy veterans midway through March offered their youth more minutes and depleted depth. Forcing D-Leaguer David Nwaba, Tyler Ennis, Tarik Black, and Thomas Robinson into meaningful, late-season roles would seemingly ensure countless losses.
However, those overlooked talents are capitalizing on the increase in minutes and have been pivotal contributors in the Lakers’ three-game winning streak. There’s no certainty they’ll have similar opportunities next season.
Unrestricted free agents this offseason, Ennis and Robinson both are incentivized to spell the starters effectively. They have, with Robinson (9.3 PPG, 7.