The Los Angeles Lakers are yet to reveal their starting five for the 2021-2022 season. While three spots on the starting lineup are locked for LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, the remaining two are up for grabs. Lakers newcomer Kent Bazemore is one of potential starters.
The 32-year-old small forward, who played in all six preseason games for the Lakers, averaged 7.5 points in 22.7 minutes per game. He started in 5 out of 6 games that his team played. With just a few days left until the start of the regular season, Bazemore was asked whether he thinks he has earned a starting position on the Lakers roster.
“I’m still figuring things out,” he said. “We’ve had injuries, we’ve had coaches been experimenting with lineups.. I’m just out there trying to figure it out. A lot of times I’m. out there watching myself on film and it’s kind of like a deer in the headlights just trying to read these guys on the team Russ, Bron, AD.
“The most simplest I can put it is like having a new job. This is my fourth team in three seasons. Playbooks, personnel.. It’s been a lot of moving parts around me. Pushing a little bit of an identity crisis sometimes. I’ve been trying to climb out of that and trying to figure things out. The energy and effort is there which is what I’ve been focused on, the conditioning and how the body’s holding up. All that stuff will come in due time.
“I understood when I came here it’d be a process of winning the championship. For some franchises it takes a couple of years of a cohesive unit to get it done we’re trying to do it in one. So that’s the beauty in all of this. Just taking it day by day.”
