Lakers News: Darvin Ham Hints At Possible Change To LA's Starters Ahead Of Game 6
Could it be time to shake up your Los Angeles Lakers' starting five?
Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes that Los Angeles head coach Darvin Ham may be open to making adjustments to his current starting lineup following a bad 121-106 Game 5 loss on Wednesday night, against a desperate Golden State Warriors club facing elimination.
LA still leads the series 3-2 overall, and could wrap things up tonight at Crypto.com Arena. Given that role players typically perform better at home,
“We’ll sleep on some things, some suggestions and some ideas that we have and then wake up in the morning ready to make a final decision,” Ham hinted.
The obvious position is power forward. Jarred Vanderbilt has seen his minutes slashed considerably since being moved off of Stephen Curry (starting shooting guard Austin Reaves and reserve point guard Dennis Schröder now primarily handle the Curry assignment). Combo forward Rui Hachimura's floor spacing could help goose LA's offense early, while Vanderbilt in this series could still help defensively in spot minutes off the bench.
The Lakers have trotted out a first five of D'Angelo Russell at the point, Austin Reaves, All-Star small forward LeBron James, Vanderbilt, and center Anthony Davis for all of their past 11 playoff contests this postseason. It will be fascinating to see how Ham opts to tackle what could be the club's best opportunity to conclude this playoff series, a home game hosting the defending champs.
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