The Los Angeles Lakers have had a very uneven start to the season and there is blame to go around at every level. When it comes to head coach Luke Walton, one major criticism has been his constant shuffling of rotations.
Some of it was due to circumstance as Lonzo Ball’s recovery from knee surgery in training camp, as well as the suspensions to Rajon Rondo and Brandon Ingram forcing Walton’s hand. However, there are reportedly some frustrations among the veterans with his lineups and Walton understands he needs to get some things settled.
“We would like to get a couple lineups that are comfortable and know they’re going in together but that hasn’t been our reality so far this season,” Walton acknowledged. “That’s all stuff that’s still being figured out.”
While Walton doesn’t yet have everything figured out, he does have an idea of one of his team’s biggest strengths that he wants to take advantage of.
“One of our strengths is we have Rondo and LeBron who are two of the best floor generals in our game,” he said. “That’s not always my philosophy but with this team I’d like to keep one of those guys out there as much as possible.”
This is something Walton has spoken about in the past and having one of James and Rondo on the floor at all times undoubtedly helps the Lakers as a whole.
Until things are set, however, Walton will continue to go with his gut feeling, and rely on the Lakers’ culture to keep everyone engaged. “That’s not where we’re at as a group, so a lot of it is feel,” Walton noted.
“That’s why we talk so much about culture and having each other’s back. Everyone wants to play but for us to be successful this year, we need everyone at different times int he season stepping up to help us win games. And we need everyone else who isn’t having those opportunities that night to be supportive and cheering them on.”
The expected signing of veteran center Tyson Chandler won’t make things any easier for Walton, but he understands the task at hand.
“We’re trying to figure things out. We’ve got to figure groups out.”
