Opening Night is just around the corner for the Los Angeles Lakers as they will host the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
With LeBron James out of the lineup, Lakers head coach JJ Redick has to choose a fifth starter alongside Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes, and he appears to have landed on Gabe Vincent.
It may be a matchup-based decision against Stephen Curry and the Warriors, but nonetheless, Vincent earned the spot with his stellar play this preseason.
The guard was injured for a majority of his first season with the Lakers and then was working his way back in the second. Vincent is coming off a healthy offseason though and it has looked like it this preseason.
While Redick’s decision to start Vincent may be a controversial one given his lack of size, one person who enjoys playing with him is Doncic.
“As you can see, I always like playing with Gabe,” Doncic said after the Lakers’ preseason finale. “I mean, obviously his shooting is gonna help me a lot. We have that connection. He made four 3s out of five, so we he’s hot like that, we need to get him some more touches. But he brings a defensive intensity too so I think that’s gonna help us a lot.”
It’s no secret that Doncic needs shooting around him to be at his best, and Vincent can definitely provide that as he continues to shoot at the level his did in the preseason. Vincent also provided some point of attack defense, which is a big need on this Lakers roster.
It remains to be seen if Vincent will stay in the starting lineup beyond Opening Night, but regardless of his role, it looks like the 29-year-old is primed to make a big impact for L.A. in his third season with the team.
Lakers coach JJ Redick praises Gabe Vincent’s preseason
Gabe Vincent has been one of the Lakers’ standouts this preseason and head coach JJ Redick recently praised him for his play.
“Yeah, he’s been fantastic,” Redick said. “Really as an on-ball guy. He’s created advantages for us, I think his movement in early offense sets and then his movement in our half-court has been really good. I think he’s pushing himself right now to get in fantastic shape and be able to do that, sustain that, for a longer period. That would be the goal for him.”
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