Lakers News: When Will Darvin Ham Make Starting Lineup Changes?
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham apparently intends to play the same starting five that has led the Lakers to the nadir of the Western Conference standings thus far this year.
Your Los Angeles Lakers have been trotting out the same starting five to kick off the NBA season: 6'3" Russell Westbrook at the point, 6'1" Patrick Beverley at shooting guard, 6'4" Lonnie Walker IV at small forward, 6'9" LeBron James at power forward, and 6'10" Anthony Davis at center.
Per NBA.com, this Lakers lineup has posted a net rating of -8.8 in 33 minutes together.
While this smaller lineup has been effective at pushing the pace and actually ranks second this season in its defensive rating (103.4), it also ranks dead-last in offensive rating (97.2) and three-point percentage by a significant margin.
Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times reports that Ham was asked, point blank, if he was going to be changing the Lakers' starting lineup. "Not today" was his simple response.
The team's highest-rated lineup, albeit in just two minutes across three possible games, features James, Westbrook, Davis, Walker... and 15th man Matt Ryan, who only made the opening night roster because the Lakers are so bereft of long-range shooters. This writer is surprised a lineup featuring Westbrook made the cut, but the other four players make sense.
James, Davis, and Walker have looked like the strongest players for L.A. thus far. Walker has flashed intriguing two-way athleticism for the Lakers. The team definitely needs a floor spacer to open up driving lines in the paint, a role which Ryan can fill for now.
This writer is not suggesting that the team move Matt Ryan into the Lakers' starting five at all, though he probably does need to become a part of the team's rotation. If Los Angeles is locked into starting Westbrook for some insane reason, even that could be workable if he's willing to try on defense and cut on offense (which he has fitfully done this year). The big issue comes from the club's dearth of wing defenders. Starting Beverley and Walker a position above their traditional roles immediately puts the team at a disadvantage.
Why not move Walker back to his more natural shooting guard slot and start a bigger player, like Juan Toscano-Anderson, Austin Reaves, or even Troy Brown Jr., at small forward? All those players are decent shooters and can much more capably handle bigger wings.
The 0-3 Lakers will next face off against a formidable Denver Nuggets team, led by reigning two-time MVP center Nikola Jokic, on the road tomorrow.
