The Los Angeles Lakers' most recent buyout acquisition, Andre Drummond, has gotten off a relatively good start for his new team versus the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. Drummond, who started in the lineup instead of Marc Gasol showed his potential in the first few minutes, specifically his rebounding, defense, blocking, passing, and interior presence. Drummond’s addition to the team has got the defending champions more excited than usual. 

 

There’s no question that the Lakers are expected to slip down the Western Conference standings with both their superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis sidelined. The addition of Drummond can help provide scoring and defense while both James and Davis are out.

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Although it’s going to be interesting to look out for the minutes distribution between Drummond, Gasol, and former sixth man of the year Montrezl Harrell. Gasol, who has been on a minute restriction, was already informed about his decrease of minutes due to the addition of Drummond. 

Drummond’s addition makes this current Lakers team even more versatile. If they want to buff up their interior presence and optimize rebounding, they can go to Drummond. If they want to score, Harrell is there and of course, for decision making and passing, they can let Gasol take the helm. It’s going to be interesting to see how head coach Frank Vogel mixes and matches his bigs. In Wednesday's game versus the Bucks, Harrell was the first substitute off the bench before Gasol. 

As for the Lakers, they hope to rank up as many wins as they can without their two best players. They currently hold the fourth spot in the West but teams like the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers are just right behind.