With the Los Angeles Lakers struggling in December, head coach Darvin Ham decided to make a lineup change.
After missing some time, Jarred Vanderbilt regained his starting job, relegating D’Angelo Russell to the bench. However, this new starting five struggled on Christmas Day against the rival Boston Celtics, falling behind 12-0 and never recovering, resulting in a defeat.
The Lakers were able to reset with a couple of days off, though, with film and practice. Ham shared what stood out in the film session against Boston.
“Some of our self-inflicted wounds. We had a really good film session today talking about our transition defense. They put a lot of pressure on you, dead balls, missed shots, made shots, doesn’t matter. They play with a lot of pace and a lot of force. So us really having a sense of energy with that first line of defense, our transition defense, and then also not being disciplined,” Ham said.
“We fouled them a lot, they had 28 free throw attempts. So the fouling and then those guys getting timely offensive rebounds and second-chance points. So those two things right there, just the details. We kept stressing the details in the film session and on the practice floor. Just us not getting bored with the details and playing with the energy and effort and discipline night in and night out, no matter what happens. We can live with ourselves if we’re competitive and playing a smart brand of basketball.”
Since becoming head coach with the Lakers, Ham has been a drop, hedge coverage on defense, but against the Celtics decided to do more switching, which resulted in miscommunication. Ham stressed the importance of communication when changing coverages.
“Definitely. That’s the only thing that can prevent us from maximizing what we have on the floor, is the lack of communication,” Ham said. “It starts in transition. When we get cross-matched, guys communicating where the help is, and then when the shot goes us, just getting hits and trying to box out and support one another. But yeah, communication is at the root of everything.” Another factor in a new starting lineup is trying to figure out how to play off one another and form chemistry with one another. Despite some hiccups, Ham believes this new starting five has shown more good than bad. “I think the pros is the size, the athleticism, the ability to switch across the board. I think the cons are just different actions, not having a traditional point guard can be challenging at times,” he said. “But at the end of the day, again, we have stuff in our package where you can still get to some really good stuff, get Bron some good looks, get AD some good looks, Taurean, the shooters, Vando being able to pass and be effective at the rim. So I think it’s more good than bad, but again, we wanted to lean into our defense and that’s the biggest thing right now that we’re trying to reestablish ourselves with and be more consistent at. Just being a defensive-minded juggernaut, if you will.” With the Lakers offense being up influx throughout the season, Ham has decided to lean into defense as the team’s identity, especially with this new starting lineup. While this lineup has struggled on both ends, Ham remains optimistic that things will pan out over time.
Jarred Vanderbilt believes practice will help Lakers’ new starting lineup gain chemistry
Ham is not the only one who has a positive outlook on the new lineup, as Vanderbilt believes that the ability to have a practice will help them gain chemistry and grow as a unit.
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