Lakers: Three Reasons why Danny Green could be the X-Factor

One of the Few Reliable Guards

The final reason as to why Danny Green could be the Lakers X-factor player going into and through the playoffs is he is one of the few guards left on the roster that has spent meaningful minutes on the court with the Lakers.

While the Lakers have done what they can to better the depth at the guard position with the signings of Dion Waiters before the suspension of the season and reportedly closing in on signing J.R. Smith, Green is one of the few guards that has been a key player in the Lakers rotation.

While I believe that Alex Caruso will do great things for the team if the team gives him a chance and the minutes necessary to prove himself he found himself on the outside looking in when it came to minutes during the season.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the only other guard that Frank Vogel and the coaching staff should even consider giving minutes to that started the year with the team. With there being such a hole at the point guard position with Bradley opting out, it will be crucial for Green to pick up the slack.

He is out of all of the other options on the roster the player who has the best on-court chemistry with the rest of the starters. With so little time to be able to implement and get comfortable playing with players like Caruso, Caldwell-Pope, Waiters, and possibly Smith it is probable that Green will be seeing a spike in minutes along with more responsibilities while he is on the court.

If he is unable to pick up on these added responsibilities the Lakers will have the weakest backcourt going into the playoffs out of all of the teams that are genuinely contending for a title. However, if the team goes with Caruso starting at the point and Green flourishes in his role and with the more minutes he will get, the duo will be more than enough to pass through the playoffs.

With Caruso never playing in the playoffs and only starting in a single game this season it will be a lot of adjustment for him and could end up being too much for the young player. This is why it will be on Danny Green’s shoulders to step up for the team and the Lakers future in the playoffs could end up being in his hands.