Jaxson Hayes believes he can play alongside Deandre Ayton

It looks like the Los Angeles Lakers will go with a starting lineup of Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves, Luka Dončić, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton when they begin their regular-season schedule on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors. Ayton seems firmly entrenched as their starting center, while Jaxson Hayes will return to being a backup.

When the Lakers won the NBA championship during the 2019-20 season, they had two big men in their starting lineup: Anthony Davis at the 4 and JaVale McGee at the 5. When McGee sat, they often went with Howard alongside Davis, and that setup helped them become a tremendous defensive team that year.

Defense is the big concern for Los Angeles this season. Hayes said recently that he feels he can effectively play on the court at the same time alongside Ayton in a two-big-man lineup.

Via Lakers Nation:

“For sure,” Hayes responded when asked if he and Ayton could play together. “I did a little bit with AD. My third year in the league I started at the 4 for the [New Orleans] Pelicans and we made the playoffs that year with Jonas [Valanciunas]. So I think it’s definitely something I can do, and I’ve been working on my shot this offseason. So, yeah.”

Ayton's ability to hit the mid-range jump shot just could make such a setup work in short spurts. However, Hayes is very limited offensively, and there is no indication that coach JJ Redick actually plans on using such a combination.

Last season, Redick experimented sparingly with having Davis and Hayes on the court at the same time before Davis was sent out in the trade that brought Doncic to L.A.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Jaxson Hayes believes he can play alongside Deandre Ayton