Los Angeles Lakers: Why LA’s bench is the best in the West

3. The bench has the perfect blend of experience and explosiveness

The biggest advantage in the Los Angeles Lakers’ favor when it comes to the second unit is the ebb and flow of the talent on the bench that perfectly complements itself. The Lakers have the two things NBA teams look for in a bench all in a nutshell and will use that to their advantage when the going gets tough.

When it comes to experience, the Lakers have the perfect amount of valuable experience without loading the roster too heavily with veterans. Rajon Rondo, who will be on the bench for most of the year, knows what it takes to win and lose championships and will be the bench’s version of LeBron James as a leader on the court.

JaVale McGee, who is going to start but could find himself playing with the second unit more often than not late in the season, is coming off of back-to-back NBA Championships with the Golden State Warriors.

And while Michael Beasley does not have that same kind of title experience to his name, he has 10 NBA seasons under his belt in various different NBA systems that makes his knowledge as valuable as anyone’s.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have explosiveness in Kuzma and Hart as well as other young pieces, such as the rookies or even Ivica Zubac, from keeping the bench from being a collection of stars that are past their primes.

That experience is going to help the Lakers edge out less experienced teams down the stretch. The explosiveness is going to help the team stay in games or get back in games with a nice run.