The Los Angeles Lakers are ill-equipped for potential postseason encounters with the likes of Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic, and Alperen Sengun. It's a fact that has many questioning how significant the rescinded Mark Williams trade could prove to be.
While there's no way around how lackluster the Lakers' options are at center, there's still reason to believe they can overcome their interior woes.
With 30 games remaining on the schedule, the Lakers are 12 wins clear of .500 at 32-20. If the season were to end today, Los Angeles would be the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference and would thus avoid having to go through the Play-In Tournament.
In that scenario, the Lakers would be tasked with figuring out how to counteract Sengun in a No. 4 vs. No. 5 first-round series against the Houston Rockets.
The advantage that Los Angeles has over a vast majority of teams, Houston included, is the pairing of Luka Doncic and LeBron James. It remains to be seen how they'll complement one another, but their pairing gives the Lakers a distinct edge with the best player on the court almost always being a Laker.
Beyond that duo is an underrated strength that should enable Los Angeles to at least begin to compensate for its interior flaws: Potentially elite perimeter depth.
Lakers' perimeter depth can help offset interior woes
The Lakers have assembled a roster with an impressive collection of perimeter players. That begins with Doncic and James, All-NBA mainstays capable of putting a team on their respective backs during a postseason series, and continues with a tremendous third option: Austin Reaves.
Over his past 28 appearances, Reaves has recorded averages of 20.7 points, 7.1 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 2.5 three-point field goals made on .450/.363/.869 shooting.
That three-headed monster gives Los Angeles an extraordinary amount of offensive firepower. Dalton Knecht should help in that same area as a sharpshooting rookie who has already proven capable of erupting to the tune of 37 points in a single game.
Across the roster, the Lakers have an arguably elite balance of playmakers, shooters, and shot-creators to go make-for-make with just about any opponent.
The bigger concerns are on defense, but there may be reason to hold off on fully sounding the alarm. Los Angeles has built a captivating rotation of defensive-minded players, headlined by 3-and-D specialist Dorian Finney-Smith and vaunted defender Jarred Vanderbilt.
With two wings capable of playing lockdown defense, the Lakers could smother teams that play a perimeter-oriented style in a sufficient enough manner to allow Doncic and James to close games out.
It's also worth noting that the likes of Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, and Gabe Vincent have played well on defense in 2024-25. If recent signing Jordan Goodwin can live up to his NBA reputation as a high-level defender, the Lakers' depth could prove significant enough to help it mask its lack of ideal depth at center.
Matchups will challenge the validity of this belief during the playoffs, but the Lakers could be better equipped to handle the development at center than previously perceived.
