The Lakers have too many undersized guards, but one of them is a keeper

The Lakers clearly have a roster construction and balance issue. It’s a problem that’s been staring them in the face since the start of last season, and a problem that was on full display vs the Celtics, with head coach Darvin Ham limiting his rotation to only six players for the final 16 minutes of the game and overtime, part of why the team was dead tired.

The issue? Fielding four guards in Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverly, Kendrick Nunn, and Dennis Schroder who are 6’3 and under. They also have multiple players under 6’6, which makes the glut of small guards even more troublesome.

The lack of size and lack of wings is a clear problem, particularly when playing multiple smaller guards together. For example, just look at these lineup combination plus/minus numbers (try not to gag), from our very own Alex Regla:

Sheesh.

That being said, one of these four guards clearly sticks out as a positive when it comes to production alongside the Lakers' two superstars in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. I explained why in the following video.

Data aside, it’s clear that the Lakers can benefit from a smaller guard who brings ball pressure and ballhandling to the team, but you can’t have four of them on a 15-player roster. With Dec. 15 now here, the hope is you can make a smaller trade to help balance the roster and add the much-needed wing depth.

There’s a good team in here, and the approach has been night and day compared to last season, but much of it is undermined by the roster. So please, for all that I hold dear in my life, no more four-guard lineups.

Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT has a doctorate in physical therapy from Northern Arizona University, is a youth basketball coach at the U12 level and runs his own in-person and online sports medicine and performance business, 3CB Performance, in West LA and Valencia, CA in which he further combines his movement expertise and fitness training. Combining his background in biomechanics, movement science, and learning science - he consults in a variety of sports including basketball on movement mechanics and skill acquisition. Brar is additionally training at UCLA’s mindful awareness research center (MARC and analyzes the Lakers from a skills & medical perspective for Silver Screen and Roll and on his own YouTube Channel. You can follow him on Twitter at @3cbPerformance.