The Los Angeles Lakers have opted to make two noteworthy lineup changes in an effort to find their way out of slumps this season.
The first was to move Austin Reaves to the bench, while the second was shifting D’Angelo Russell to the second unit after 29 games. The decision of how to deploy Russell came with some scrutiny directed at coach Darvin Ham, but it appears he didn’t make the call alone.
Ham apparently spoke with the Lakers’ star duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the decision, as ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported.
… Ham went with a big, switchable group of Davis, James, Vanderbilt, Reddish and Taurean Prince, hoping to up the team’s defensive impact.
The lineup change, sources told ESPN, was not a unilateral decision – Ham consulted with [LeBron] James and [Anthony] Davis on the concept – and its results were immediate: The Lakers beat the Thunder on Dec. 23, with James putting up a vintage 40 points and L.A. dishing a season-high 37 assists.
The change ultimately snapped the Lakers out of a brutal skid, and they proceeded to drop the next game to the Boston Celtics before defeating the Charlotte Hornets. But from there, it had been all downhill again, with Los Angeles dropping four straight games before finally returning to the win column with a 106–103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
As McMenamin highlights, a focus for Ham has been on improving things on the defensive end, which was pivotal in the team’s run to the Western Conference finals last year.
Whether the team can return to that form could be crucial over the next month ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline, and it may also ultimately decide what direction the front office opts to go with the current roster.
