Podcast: How will the Lakers adjust without LeBron James?

The Lakers are facing at least eight more days without LeBron James as their superstar remains in health and safety protocols, and that leaves lots of gaps on the court that need to be filled.

On the latest episode of “I Love Basketball”, a Silver Screen & Roll podcast, Sabreena Merchant and Harrison Faigen go over the myriad of ways that the Lakers will need to replace LeBron in the lineup. They start with the center rotation, where James has been masquerading as a backup center and try to figure out what bigs — and by extension, what lineups — make sense with less effective defensive personnel at the forward positions.

They then move on to the playmaking deficit. Both Sabreena and Harrison agree that, ideally, this is an opportunity for Talen Horton-Tucker to slide into a more prominent lead guard role. But with Horton-Tucker struggling mightily in recent games, they explore the possibility of a number of other guards running the offense when Russell Westbrook sits, led by Malik Monk and Rajon Rondo.

Finally, the hosts dive into what exactly Frank Vogel means when he says the team is more suited to withstand LeBron’s absence now then earlier in the season, specifically as it relates to the play of Anthony Davis, but mostly Westbrook.

You can listen to the full episode below, and to make sure you never miss a show, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.

And for a short-form recap pod, check out Lakers Lowdown, in which Anthony Irwin recaps the previous day’s news and gets you ready for the day ahead in LakerLand, every weekday morning on the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast feed.