Before Sunday’s victory against the Atlanta Hawks, Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni decided to insert Xavier Henry into the starting line-up for Nick Young and it was an effective decision.
After struggling through the first three games as a starter, Nick Young came off the bench and finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists. With Young mentioning that his goal is to win the Sixth Man of the Year award this season, D’Antoni has decided to start Xavier Henry tomorrow night via Lakers Nation’s Serena Winters:
D’Antoni says Xavier Henry WILL start tomorrow
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 4, 2013
It’s no surprise that Henry will start tomorrow and possibly for the foreseeable future. In his first start of the season, Henry finished with 18 points including 2-4 from three-point land and 6-8 from the free-throw line. He looked very comfortable and provided much needed energy to the starting frontcourt of Pau Gasol and Shawne Williams.
With Henry starting, it allows Young to play a role that he has been comfortable playing throughout his career. Instead of trying to fill Kobe Bryant’s role on offense and create for his teammates, Young can solely focus on providing that offensive punch off the bench.
While it was only one game, the Lakers’ coaching staff seems to have found a nice balance between the starters and bench as D’Antoni continues to have an 11-man rotation this season.
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VIDEO: Nick Young Says His Goal This Year Is Winning 6th Man Of The year