Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham made a long-awaited decision on Monday night to return to the season’s original starting lineup of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Taurean Prince.
Ham had been experimenting with several other looks for defensive purposes, but ultimately found his way back to the team’s first starting lineup.
The five-man unit struggled defensively against the Oklahoma City Thunder, posting a defensive rating of 124.4 in 19 minutes together. But they were, unsurprisingly, elite offensively. They had an offensive rating of 127.3 in their time together, resulting in a plus-2.9 net rating. When Ham made his first substitution of the quarter at the 5:12 mark, the Lakers led 21-19, a great change of pace for a team that has struggled in first quarters.
Ham had a relatively simple explanation when discussing why he chose to go back to that starting lineup and what he feels it does for the team’s two superstars in Davis and James.
“Just wanted to put as much skill and shotmaking on the floor around our two captains,” Ham said. “And those five, they’ve been pretty much our most consistent guys throughout the season thus far. So just put them together.
“And like I said, for the foreseeable future, that’s going to be our lineup, barring any type of injury. I thought it went well. It was a hell of a night. A lot of contributions. Talked about everybody pouring into one another, covering for one another, helping each other be great on both sides of the ball. And I think we saw that tonight.”
Ham explained why it was such a long process of varying starting lineups only to get back to exactly where the Lakers started the season.
“I just think everyone, given the individual contributions, both LJ and AD having All-Star-caliber years, once again, and just trying to find the right mixture. And injuries haven’t helped at all. Different guys in and out of the lineup and it creates so much inconsistency. So finally being able to have some healthy bodies, albeit Cam [Reddish] is out, but for the most part, having Rui [Hachimura] back, having Vando back, getting his legs up under him is really, really nice. Max [Christie], just an infusion of youth and energy. And C-Wood, him being a backup five, just just him settling into that role.
“I think everything balances. Tonight was the indicator of the balance that we hope to sustain based on really coming off a big huge win against Oklahoma City. One of the better teams not just in the West Conference, but in the league with an elite, elite player in Shai. So it was great. It’s a great win to get. It has been tough but like I told them yesterday, we have a chance going forward just focusing on the business we have to take care of moving forward with just taking everything one day at a time.”
Of course, the new — and old — starting lineup isn’t perfect, They have major flaws on the defensive end of the floor. However, Ham believes it won’t take much for them to improve on that end.
“I just think doing your work early. You go to the basket, turn the ball over, you miss a shot, you got to be on to the next play. Against everybody in this league, everybody can dribble, pass and shoot and put a ton of pressure on you in transition. So just having a short memory and getting back, getting in position to help one another.
“Being great on the ball individually, the communication and the activity behind the initial defender, good team defense. And then finishing a possession with a rebound. That’s the biggest thing, putting bodies on bodies and everybody gang rebounding. They got their fair share of offensive rebounds and took advantage, those usually turn into 3s. So just doing a better job finishing. We had a ton of defensive possessions where we just couldn’t quite come up with the defensive rebound so we’ll look at it on film tomorrow, look at the turnovers. See what we can tighten up, but it was a ton of good things that we did tonight against a really good ball club.”
Ham assures that this lineup is remaining the starting unit for the foreseeable future barring any injuries. This gives them a chance to improve defensively while continuing to hit the gas pedal on the offensive end. The hope is that this put the Lakers back on track and consistently in the win column.
Lakers’ Austin Reaves & D’Angelo Russell enjoy sharing floor
The Lakers backcourt duo of Russell and Reaves have full confidence in their ability to raise the team’s ceiling if they’re playing alongside one another. Russell, specifically, endorsed playing next to Reaves.
“We got a lot of credibility in the short stint that we have together. When you put us out there, it works.”
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