Los Angeles Lakers: Three role players that will have a bigger impact

3. JaVale McGee

JaVale McGee is returning for his second season in Los Angeles as he was one of the few veteran free agents that were re-signed after signing a one-year contract last summer. And quite frankly, re-signing McGee ended up being one of the more important moves to make as he was great in LA last year.

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McGee was much better than anyone really expected him to be as he proved to be more of a scoring presence as well as the rim protector and rebounder that the Lakers were hoping for. Sure, he had a role in some of the Warriors teams, but McGee has always been known more for his antics on Shaqtin a Fool.

It helps that LeBron James typically makes big men better (see: Ivica Zubac) but we have to give McGee his credit where credit is due.

Despite having such a good first year in LA, McGee has kind of taken the backseat in the frontcourt. Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins are going to pair as the starting backcourt, with Kyle Kuzma and LeBron James both being able to spend time at the four as well.

While on paper McGee might not stand out, he is going to be an instrumental veteran bench piece that can really swing the tide of some big games down the stretch; the perfect fallback option to give minutes to if Cousins is not on his game in any particular night.

We will definitely see a downtick in his numbers but that is okay as his impact will be more than just his box score contributions.

When the playoffs roll around, it is a player like McGee that can help make the difference with his experience and ability to comfortably give the Lakers’ stars some rest. Because of that, he is much more important to this team than you may think.