Lakers Lock In Absurd Starting Five for Friday Night Clash with Warriors

The Lakers are rolling out a starting five that looks like a 2K MyLeague simulation where the user turned off the salary cap and trade logic. Underdog NBA just confirmed Los Angeles will start Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Matisse Thybulle, Jake LaRavia, and Walker Kessler on Friday night.

If you are holding tickets or staring at player props for this matchup against the Golden State Warriors, this is the exact clarity you want. No game-time decision theater, just a locked-in rotation ready to run up the score.

"Underdog NBA tweeted: 'Lineup alert: Lakers will start Doncic, Reaves, Thybulle, LaRavia, Kessler on Friday.'"

And running up the score is exactly what this backcourt does. Doncic is currently operating on a different planet, averaging an absurd 36.0 points and 8.3 assists through the first five games. Pairing him with Reaves, who is casually dropping 24.4 points a night himself, gives Los Angeles a two-headed monster that opposing defenses simply cannot solve.

The rest of the lineup is the perfect mix of defensive chaos and floor spacing. You have Thybulle out there to terrorize passing lanes, LaRavia to stretch the floor, and Kessler anchoring the paint with 2.4 blocks per game. It is the kind of roster construction that makes you wonder if the rest of the league was asleep at the wheel during the offseason.

The results speak for themselves. The Lakers are sitting at 4-1 with a top-five net rating, fresh off a 103-87 defensive clinic against the Los Angeles Clippers. They are scoring at will and finally have the rim protection to back it up.

Friday night’s 10:00 PM tipoff against Golden State is the next test for this juggernaut. If Doncic and Reaves keep shooting like this, the Warriors are going to need a lot more than home-court advantage to keep this game competitive.