Lakers News: Insider Breaks Down Best, Worst New-Look LA Lineups
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has been a man on a mission all season, looking to maximize his personnel by tinkering almost constantly with his lineups.
Some of that has happened by necessity, as his two best players, future first-ballot Hall of Famers LeBron James and Anthony Davis, have each missed 26 games apiece.
Since the trade deadline, Ham's roster has generally been significantly more balanced, but that hasn't stopped him from experimenting to figure out who fits best where. Just last night, Ham made a change to his starting lineup, swapping out new addition Malik Beasley in favor of second-year shooting guard Austin Reaves, who is enjoying a breakout month for LA.
Jovan Buha of The Athletic took the time to unpack the best (and worst) five-man lineups since the deadline.
Buha reveals that Ham's previously-preferred starting five -- comprising D'Angelo Russell, Beasley (who will now presumably be replaced by Reaves), James, Jarred Vanderbilt and Anthony Davis -- has excelled in its limited time (38 possessions) on the floor together, on both sides of the hardwood.
"But the Lakers have crushed during that time, outscoring opponents by 26.4 points per 100 possessions," Buha notes. "The Lakers’ starters have a 100th-percentile offensive rating (128.9) and a 99th-percentile defensive rating (102.6)."
Buha notes that, while James and Davis are clearly permanent closers for LA's frontcourt, that third forward spot remains somewhat available. Yours truly thinks Vanderbilt is the clear choice, but Rui Hachimura's shooting does make him a viable option.
Per Buha, Vanderbilt is "making it harder to keep him off the floor. The Davis-Vanderbilt-James trio is shaping up to be dominant, having outscored opponents by 34.7 points per 100 possessions in a limited sample."
D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Davis' two-man game has impressed fans on the floor, and Buha indicates that the numbers back up what our eyes have been telling us, noting that lineups featuring both players have been outscoring rival teams by 6.5 points per 100 possessions across their minutes on the floor.
When it comes to determining the worst lineups for the team, it should probably come as no surprise that lineups without Davis (or James) have been outscored by 2.9 points per 100 possessions since James went down with his right foot tendon injury, which is the third-worst scoring margin for Los Angeles in that timeline, according to Buha.
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