Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham made another change to the starting lineup for the team’s game on Monday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The move was a return to the team’s initial starters with D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Taurean Prince joining Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
The result on Monday was great as the Lakers took down the Thunder 112-105 to put an end to their two-game losing streak. Both Russell and Reaves were solid around Davis and James, giving the starting lineup more of an offensive punch with the reserves providing some defense and size.
But when it comes to the starting lineup, Davis isn’t concerned with the offensive side of the ball, believing the key to success for this group is defending.
“I think we can score,” Davis said. “Myself, Bron, DLo, AR, TP with his shooting ability. I think for us, it’s just on the defensive end. If we play defense how we did tonight against anybody then we’ll put ourselves in position to win basketball games.
“So the defense I think is most important and we play off of that. Whether it’s in transition or playing through me, playing through Bron, AR, whoever, I think the defense is what is gonna separate us and get us more wins than losses.”
Defense has always been the key for the Lakers as they like to play with pace and get out in transition. But that isn’t possible if they aren’t getting stops. The other concern for this lineup is the lack of size and what that could mean in terms of rebounding.
The Lakers have cost themselves many games due to allowing too many offensive rebounds and second-chance points and this group puts a lot of pressure on everyone else to help Davis out on the glass. But he feels the communication and effort in that area is improving.
“Actually, Austin and TP are always screaming that we got to rebound and help out,” Davis added. “So especially with that starting unit, when those other guys come in it gives us more size, but especially with the starting unit, we have to rebound. We’re kind of up and down in that department, but it’s just effort.
“But guys talk about it, how we got to rebound. Not constant reminders but if I go help on the shot block or anything like that, you guys got to crack back on the big and box out. So it’s constant communication but I think we’re getting better at it.”
The Lakers know what their issues are it is simply a matter of putting in the work and executing when it matters. Davis will lead the way when it comes to defense and rebounding, but the entire team must contribute for the Lakers to be successful.
Anthony Davis: ‘tough’ to assess Lakers at midway point due to health
At the midway point of this season, the Lakers are not where they need to be at just 20-21. In assessing where the team stands, Davis feels its tough due to the team’s health issues, but the big man still believes in what the team has in the locker room.
“It’s tough because we haven’t been completely healthy,” Davis said after Monday’s win over the Thunder. “We’ve been in games a lot this year but we’ve been having a lot of injuries, which is always tough. The time that we’ve been completely healthy, we’ve played great basketball. So we know what we can be, but I think we just got to get fully healthy.
“But I like our team. I like what we’re doing, I like what we did tonight. We got to continue on that path.”
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