With the NBA Restart on the horizon, we are going to take stock of who is on the Los Angeles Lakers, what they did, or didn’t do this season, and what to look for as the Lakers look to march towards their 17th championship banner in the most unprecedented circumstances in NBA history.

Jared Dudley

There might be no player on the Lakers, aside from LeBron James, that is more comfortable using his voice than forward Jared Dudley. And just because Dudley was used sparingly this season by the Lakers and coach Frank Vogel, the leadership role, the respect he commands and most importantly, his strong resume of playoff performance, indicates that he will likely have a bigger role in the postseason than he did for much of the regular season.

While Dudley is a 12-year veteran in the league, he’s only been fortunate enough to play in the postseason in 4 of those 12 seasons. However, when he’s been there, he’s been a solid shooter and team defender. Dudley is a career 43.2% shooter in the postseason career, which currently spans 33 games.

In addition to his shooting, his willingness to play up a position, whether at power forward or at center, is useful. The only worry, as we saw last year in Brooklyn, is that Dudley can get pretty banged up doing that. But on a team with two superstars in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers will need several players that are ready for that job.

The good news is that Dudley, even though he’s not high on the forward pecking order, will provide that in spots. Dudley has also gotten a lot of credit from some of the younger players on the Lakers for his activity in keeping the team engaged and focused on their goal of winning the championship.

Dudley’s personal stats aren’t going to blow anybody away and he will rarely if ever, create his own shot. But he can provide a willing defender and a consistent 3-point shooter that LeBron James will definitely utilize if they are out on the floor together.

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