Lakers News: Anthony Davis Believes Current Starting Lineup Similar To 2020 Group

There are certainly some parallels -- and some big differences.

Los Angeles Lakers star power forward Anthony Davis appears to be enjoying getting acclimated to new head coach Darvin Ham's new starting five.

Throughout training camp thus far, Ham has been starting Russell Westbrook at point guard, newly healthy 6'2" Kendrick Nunn at shooting guard, LeBron James at small forward, Davis at power forward, and Damian Jones at center.

Speaking today during a team practice with Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register, Davis reflected on parallels between this new Lakers lineup and the 2019-20 championship season's starting five.

Asked Anthony Davis about the group with him, LeBron, Russ, Nunn and Jones that we’ve been hearing a lot about. Said AD: “It kind of reminds me of my first year here with JaVale in that lineup, having that lob threat and the rest of the guys playing on the perimeter.” pic.twitter.com/l6MxjvGaAe

— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) October 1, 2022

He noted the floor spacing the club would be gaining with the addition of Nunn, a career 36.4% three-point shooter on 5.8 attempts, comparing it to the shooting the team had in 2019-20 thanks to sharpshooting wings Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (James played point guard that season). James, now the team's small forward, has developed into a decent three-point shooter, although Westbrook is not.

JaVale McGee, the ultimate rim-rolling role player, proved to be an effective lob threat on offense and an intimidating defensive presence in limited minutes. The athletic 27-year-old Jones possesses a similar skillset. 

Where Davis sounds a bit optimistic is in assessing the team's wing defense. Nunn has never been a good defender, and will be at even more of a disadvantage this year if he really is expected to be a full-time shooting guard, where he will be fairly undersized. Westbrook remains fairly athletic even at age 33, but has never been particularly engaged on that end of the hardwood.