The Lakers starting lineup is not strong enough to defend, should Smart replace Hachimura?

An anonymous NBA scout was interviewed by Lakers Daily, a Los Angeles Lakers self-media. He talked about the Lakers' starting lineup arrangement next season. The scout said the starting lineup consisting of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James and DeAndre Ayton had insufficient defensive strength, and in the fiercely competitive West, such a lineup seemed a bit difficult to gain a foothold.

The scout said: Lakers head coach JJ Redick should let Marcus Smart into the starting lineup and replace Hachimura's starting position. The Lakers' starting lineup needs a player who can stare at the opponent's arrow characters while defending. If Luca, Reeves, Hachimura, LeBron and Ayton start, none of them can do this. So I would choose to let Smart get into the starter rather than let Hachimura continue to start. The scout continued: If Hachimura meets the opponent's substitute player, when facing a lower-intensity defense, he will definitely be able to show off his offensive end and complete the scoring tasks. Smart, on the other hand, has excellent personal defense, and is able to defend top scorers like Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Stephen Curry. In this way, Doncic, Reeves, James and others don’t have to worry more about defense, they can focus on offense.

In the NBA regular season last season, Smart played 34 times for the Memphis Grizzlies and the Washington Wizards, averaging 20 minutes per game, with averaging 9 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.3 blocks, and 1.6 turnovers and 1.6 fouls. His shooting percentage was 39.3%, his three-point shooting percentage was 34.8%, and his free throw shooting percentage was 76.1%. In the NBA regular season last season, Hachimura played a total of 59 games due to injuries in 82 games, averaging 31.8 minutes per game, with averaging 12.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks, 0.9 turnovers and 1.8 fouls, with a shooting percentage of 49.2%, a three-point shooting percentage of 40.9%, and a free throw shooting percentage of 77.5%. In the playoffs, Hachimura made a total of 5 appearances, averaging 36.4 minutes per game, with averaging 14.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1 assist, 0.6 steals, and 0.6 blocks. He also had 1.4 turnovers and 2.4 fouls. His shooting percentage was 49.1%, a three-point shooting percentage of 48.4%, and a free throw shooting percentage of 100%.

Theoretically speaking, Smart's characteristics seem to determine that he is indeed a more suitable starting lineup for the team, but the problem is that he was in a mess last season. He performed very poorly on the offensive end, his offensive efficiency was terrible, his three-point shooting percentage was extremely unstable, and his role on the defensive end was far inferior to his peak. Next season, it is a question whether he can maintain this level. As for Hachimura, his performance as a starter and his performance as a substitute can be said to be completely opposite, not to mention that his ability to shoot outside and move off the ball can also relieve the pressure on several other players. In theory, Smart is more suitable for starting, but this does not seem to be a particularly realistic idea?