Darvin Ham, despite initially resisting changes to the Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 starting lineup during their recent four-game losing streak, eventually relented to the need for change after their defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, his decision veered away from the anticipated moves. Instead of swapping in Austin Reaves for the struggling D\u2019Angelo Russell or reverting to the lineup that propelled the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals, Ham introduced Jarred Vanderbilt, a non-shooter, into the new starting five alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Taurean Prince, and Cam Reddish.<\/p>\n
The debut of this revamped lineup showed a somewhat balanced outcome on the court. In approximately nine minutes of play, the lineup outscored the Oklahoma City Thunder by a marginal point. Notably, the Lakers, who have frequently trailed in first quarters this season, managed to hold their ground early on. Ultimately, the Lakers clinched a 129-120 victory, leaving the primary figures in a generally positive mood. Ham lauded the group\u2019s \u201csize and physicality,\u201d emphasizing its defensive versatility. Russell, adapting to his first regular-season bench role since 2020-21, expressed comfort in his new position, prioritizing the team\u2019s win as the ultimate measure of success.<\/p>\n
However, despite this immediate success, critical flaws loom large within this lineup, particularly concerning spacing on the court. With LeBron James assuming the point guard role, the team heavily relied on the James-Davis pick-and-roll, a tactic reminiscent of their championship-winning 2020 season. However, unlike that successful group, this lineup severely lacks shooting prowess. Players like Prince, Reddish, and Vanderbilt, combining for a meager average of 3.24 three-point attempts per game across their careers, notably hinder floor spacing. This deficiency creates congestion around the basket for James and Davis, posing potential challenges in consistently navigating through defenses.<\/p>\n
The absence of additional ball-handlers, a factor that James advocated for during the acquisition of Russell Westbrook, further complicates matters. Last season\u2019s playoff lineup boasted both Reaves and Russell as supplementary ball-handlers. However, in Saturday\u2019s lineup, no such provision existed, burdening James with excessive playmaking responsibilities. With James nearing 39 years old, sustaining this role throughout the season seems impractical.<\/p>\n
Moreover, the defensive rationale behind separating Reaves and Russell becomes challenging when both spend substantial time on the bench, limiting their minutes. In a struggling offense currently ranking 24th, relegating these secondary ball-handlers to the sidelines risks further compromising the team\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n
Although the defensive performance of this lineup showcased mixed results against Oklahoma City, building a balanced lineup remains imperative. Last year\u2019s successful lineup, despite defensive liabilities in Russell and Vanderbilt, found equilibrium with strong contributions from James, Davis, and Reaves, outscoring opponents by a significant margin in the regular season.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Ham\u2019s unconventional approach might hint at potential trade considerations, with Reaves adapting well to his new role and Russell experiencing recent struggles. It\u2019s plausible that the Lakers foresee a trade involving Russell, aiming to replace him without disrupting Reaves\u2019 position. However, committing to an offensively flawed lineup in the postseason seems improbable.<\/p>\n
With the Lakers holding a 16-14 record and tied in losses with the 11th-seeded Suns, the risk of plummeting further down the standings looms large. The team\u2019s gamble on a lineup lacking shooting prowess coupled with Ham\u2019s hesitation to make swift alterations poses a significant challenge. Waiting for a potential trade while enduring these lineup experiments could further jeopardize their standing in the league.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Darvin Ham, despite initially resisting changes to the Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 starting lineup during their recent four-game losing streak, eventually\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":19982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[6223,6224],"class_list":["post-19981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-lakers","tag-thunders"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}