Lakers News: Darvin Ham Up To His Old Tiresome Tricks In Building Lineups?

The Los Angeles Lakers have had a drama-filled season so far, leading to their inconsistent play on the court. Los Angeles has been hit with the injury bug, adding to the overall frustration of the season.

One of the biggest stories from the year has been the eroding view of head coach Darvin Ham. There have been reports of Ham having a disconnect with the locker room while the fanbase has all turned on him.

However, he is here to stay for now. To his credit, the Lakers have looked much better of late, having won six of their last seven games.

But with the recent addition of veteran point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, it seems that Ham may not have learned from his previous mistakes. He said that he envisioned Dinwiddie playing in some three-guard lineups alongside D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves.

"Ham said he may use Dinwiddie in some three-guard lineups alongside Russell and Reaves, similar to those involving Russell, Reaves and Schröder last season that were most effective when James was out with a foot injury. Ham even said he thinks the Russell-Dinwiddie-Reaves trio could close games together at times."

Per Jovan Buha of The Athletic

The words three-guard lineup is like nails on a chalkboard for Laker fans. Ham used the combo often last season, which proved to not be very effective in games.

Against some smaller teams, it does make sense for minutes at a time. But for long stretches, it takes away one of the Lakers' strengths. which is their size.

Luckily, Dinwiddie is a little taller than the average guard. He is listed as six-foot-five but is really closer to six-foot-six. This gives him more size to work with and could be why Ham is electing to look at lineups with all three guards.

“All three of those guys can play together,” Ham said. “His size, he can guard bigger wings. So if we have to finish the game with those three, he’s definitely more than capable of doing that. We will look at some lineups with the three of those guys, along with Bron and AD. But I think he compliments them well. He can defend, he can pass, he can dribble, he can shoot.”

Per Darvin Ham via The Athletic

The hope is that these three-guard lineups don't happen often and especially don't close games. Ham may elect to use them for mini spurts within games, but it would be a detriment to the Lakers to hold them consistently.