Is It Time for JJ Redick to Make Major Change to Lakers Starting Lineup?

Nov 18, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick at press conference at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The return of LeBron James will inevitably shake some things up for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Up until James made his way back to the court, the offense extensively flowed through Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves — with Rui Hachimura, Jake LaRavia, and Deandre Ayton primarily functioning as the main secondary playmakers.

More news: NBA Insider Details Lakers’ Key Trade Pieces Ahead of Potential Roster Upgrade

The Lakers (13-4) are coming off a 135-118 drubbing of the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. While the stat provided by Lakers analyst Jovan Buha is a small sample size, it does open up an interesting conversation as to what the starting lineup should look like.

The Lakers are -4 in the 11 minutes the starters have played together tonight. That's been an early trend through these three games, regardless of who the starting center is.

— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) November 26, 2025

Hachimura has been a starter with the James-Doncic-Reaves trio since it was created. Without James, Hachimura flouished playing his natural spot at the four.

With James back in the lineup, Hachimura is more so asked to function as a small forward. That's not to say that Hachimura isn't capable in that role. However, a relative lack of footspeed leads to late closeouts, and the defense often scrambling.

There's also a school of thought that the Lakers jumbo lineup does offer mismatches for the opposition. With Hachimura starting, the Lakers roll out a long, big team.

Hachimura could be very potent as a sixth man. He's averaging close to 15 PPG, and in theory will always be on the court with two of the Lakers top-three players.

More news: Bronny James Reveals Key Skillset Lakers Want Him to Build in G League

With James, Hachimura, Doncic, and Reaves not exactly profiling as an elite defensive unit, the other decision JJ Redick could make would be benching Hachimura in favor of Marcus Smart.

Adding A Defense-First Piece

Smart's reputation speaks for itself. He's a defense-first player in every sense of the term. Throughout the year, he's already been a disruptive pest — taking charges and causing havoc against the opposition's top-shelf wings/guards.

Smart is averaging 1.8 SPG in only 26.8 MPG. Even with his shooting numbers supbar by his standards, the rest of the team around him shoots well enough to the point Smart can attack off the bounce and get garbage points.

On paper, it would seem to make sense for Redick to try and operate with Smart in the starting five — if nothing else just to garner some data and see what things would look like.

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.