On Monday night, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham made the long-awaited decision to revert to the season’s initial starting lineup of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Taurean Prince.
Ham had been experimenting with several defensive looks before returning to the team’s starting lineup.
The five-man unit struggled defensively against the Oklahoma City Thunder, with a defensive rating of 124.4 in 19 minutes combined. However, they were, predictably, elite offensively. They had an offensive rating of 127.3 throughout their time together, resulting in a plus-2.9 net rating. When Ham made his first substitute of the quarter at 5:12, the Lakers led 21-19, which was a welcome change of pace for a club that had labored in the first quarter.
When asked why he chose to return to that starting lineup and what he believes it means for the team’s two superstars, Davis and James, Ham gave a rather straightforward reply.
“Just wanted to put as much skill and shotmaking on the floor around our two captains,” he said. “Those five have been our most consistent players this season. Just put them together.
“And, as I already stated, that will remain our lineup for the foreseeable future, assuming no injuries. I felt things went nicely. It was one heck of a night. There were numerous contributions. We discussed how everyone should pour into one another, cover for one another, and assist each other be outstanding on both sides of the ball. And I believe we witnessed that tonight.
Ham discussed why the Lakers had to go through so many different starting lineups before returning to where they started the season.
“I just think everyone is trying to find the right mix, given the individual contributions, both LJ and AD having All-Star-caliber years.” Injuries haven’t helped. Different players come and go from the lineup, resulting in a great deal of inconsistency. So finally having some healthy bodies, unfortunately Cam [Reddish] is out, but for the most part, having Rui [Hachimura] back, Vando back, and getting his legs beneath him is really, very wonderful. Max [Christie] is simply an infusion of youth and vigor. And C-Wood, as a backup five, is just fitting into his job.
“I believe everything balances. Tonight was an indicator of the balance that we intend to maintain following a great win over Oklahoma City. One of the better teams not only in the West Conference, but in the entire league, with Shai as an exceptional player. So that was great. It’s a tremendous win. It has been difficult, but as I told them yesterday, we have a chance in the future if we focus on the task at hand and tackle things one day at a time.”
Of course, the new — and old — starting lineups aren’t without issues, particularly on the defensive end of the court. However, Ham believes it will not be difficult for them to improve in that area.
“I just think you should finish your work early. You go to the basket, turn the ball over, miss a shot, and have to go on to the next play. Every player in this league can dribble, pass, shoot, and put
There will be a lot of strain on you during the transition. So it’s just a matter of having a short memory and getting back in place to aid one another.
“Being terrific on the ball individually, communicating and moving behind the initial defender, and playing good team defense. Then completing a possession with a rebound. The most important thing is to stack bodies on bodies and have everyone in the gang rebound. They got their fair share of offensive rebounds and capitalized on them, which generally lead to threes. So simply do a better job completing. We had a lot of defensive possessions where we just couldn’t get the defensive rebound, so we’ll watch it on film tomorrow and look at the turnovers. See what we can tighten up, but we accomplished a lot of positive things tonight against a really talented baseball team.”
Ham promises that this lineup will be the starting lineup for the foreseeable future, barring any injuries. This allows them to develop defensively while remaining aggressive on offense. The goal is that this will get the Lakers back on track and consistently in the win column.
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