Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham had a roller coaster of a first season with the team, starting out of the gates slow at 2-10 to having a completely new roster more than halfway into the season. The roster that Ham had to coach was simply not good enough to be competitive in a strong Western Conference.
When reinforcements came, Ham had to figure out what pieces fit best around Anthony Davis and LeBron James, plus which player fits best to fill the void of one of those stars missing a game. James missed a good chunk of the latter half of the regular season, but Ham was able to win games with the competent roster in place to make it to the postseason despite the poor start.
While the Lakers were winning games, the team was adjusting on the fly trying to figure out the rotation and specifically who to implement in the starting lineup. However, when it comes to this season, Ham wants to avoid that and settle on a set starting lineup to avoid constant turnaround and adjustments.
“I mean, outside of the playoffs where you have to make adjustments with your rotation at times and your starting lineup, for the regular season, I want to settle in on one group,” Ham said. “It’s kind of hard to do [make changes] because guys have routines, they have pregame regimens, different eating habits, sleeping habits understanding when they’re gonna go into the game and to disrupt that really can affect performance. So we’re gonna try to settle in on one group and ride that group.”
This is a smart strategy from Ham as being able to be consistent right out of the gates and have all the players know how they fit in the rotation would be ideal for this team. A lot has been made about who is going start alongside James and Davis this upcoming season and Ham has already revealed that D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves will join the two stars.
The fifth and final starting spot is up for grabs and time will tell when that spot will be revealed. But, it can be assumed that the three in the mix are Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura and Taurean Prince. All of them can make a case of why they deserve the spot, but for Ham, this is a good problem to have.
With having arguably the most deep and talented roster in the James and Davis era, Ham has to make some tough choices with his rotation. But, he is definitely not short on options, in comparison to the beginning of last season.
Ham explains how Max Christie can earn his spot in rotation
Another one of those players in the mix to earn some minutes is now second year guard Max Christie. After impressing in Summer League and working on his game and body all summer long, Ham explained how Christie will be able to earn a spot in the rotation.
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