Now, let’s take a look at the shooting guard position:
- Kobe Bryant
- Jodie Meeks
- Devin Ebanks
- Andrew Goudelock
- Darius Johnson-Odom
Well, we all know that Kobe Bryant is going to get the majority of minutes here. However, at his age (34), it’s necessary to keep the Black Mamba off of the court as much as possible so he’ll be fresh for the playoffs.
Enter Jodie Meeks.
Meeks will be a true backup for Bryant as he has averaged 9.5 points on 41.7 percent shooting from the field and 38.1 percent shooting from behind the arc in 26:11 minutes over his last two seasons.
Right behind Meeks will likely be Devin Ebanks, as Ebanks found himself in Mike Brown’s rotation towards the end of last season while then-rookie Andrew Goudelock was sentenced to the bench. Goudelock, however, showed promise from long-range, and also displayed his ability to drive into the lane convert on a teardrop shot Lakers Nation appropriately named “the Glock Drop.”
Goudelock–who was nicknamed the Mini-Mamba last year by Bryant–could actually find himself third in line behind the original Black Mamba should Ebanks be forced to vacate his shooting guard duties in favor of small forward duties; which is quite likely (we’ll get to that in the next segment).
However, Darius Johnson-Odom, who averaged 18.3 points on 44.7 percent shooting in his last season at Marquette, could potentially be bumped ahead of Goudelock if he somehow earns coach Brown’s respect and isn’t sent down to the D-League.
All of this will be dependent on how well each player defends, however. The Lakers are still not very stable when it comes to back-court defense, so Mike Brown will surely be looking for consistent defense behind Bryant to guard both back-court positions.
Final Thought – The Lakers suddenly have options behind Kobe Bryant, but as long as everyone’s healthy, it’s a safe bet to assume Jodie Meeks will be the one spelling Bryant for the season. It never hurts to have too many options, though.
Next Page: Small Forward