Darvin Ham was always secretive with the Los Angeles Lakers’ starting lineup, but it appears that won’t be the case under new head coach JJ Redick.
It took a while for Ham to settle on one set starting lineup with injuries playing a big role in that. Once he did though, the Lakers took off and went 23-10 in the regular season with D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Rui Hachimira and Anthony Davis starting.
In an appearance on the Lowe Post podcast with ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Redick revealed that he is not going to mess with that group and will keep the same lineup to start this season:
“Yeah, it’ll be the starting five that went 23-10 last year.”
Redick went on to further expand on how that group fits together and why getting James off the ball a bit with Russell and Reaves both on the floor will be a good thing:
“It’s funny, because I think when people hear that in regards to LeBron playing off the ball, it’s doesn’t mean he’s not gonna have the ball. LeBron is one of the smartest players and I think using him as a screener and finding ways to get him the ball in specific spots on the floor where he can be a facilitator and scorer, that’s what I mean by being off the ball. I don’t mean LeBron is gonna walk the ball up and get ball pressure at 94 feet and run a high pick-and-roll every time. That’s not how we’re gonna play. I think in terms of what the offense is gonna look like, there will be a decent amount of movement. The shot profile will hopefully improve. We’ve talked about ways to get more paint touches. We’ve talked about ways to shoot more 3s. We’ve talked about some of the leeway you have to give certain players with midrange shots, whether that’s in the post or isolation. But hopefully the shot profile improved. I think from a possession standpoint, one of the margins this team created last year and historically with this group has been free throws. Outside of that, there hasn’t been a lot of margin creation so we’re gonna try to create some margins, one of which is we’re really gonna emphasize offensive rebounding and corner crashes. So yeah, I’m not comparing that to a previous coach or system, but those are some of the things that will look like a team that I coach.
With that starting group, the Lakers’ bench rotation will consist of Gabe Vincent, Max Christie, Cam Reddish, Dalton Knecht, Jarred Vanderbilt and Jaxson Hayes.
Vanderbilt is the wild card here as he may not be healthy to start the season. If he is though, then perhaps Redick considers starting him at points of the season to get a point-of-attack defender on the floor.
Either way though, it’s good to see that Redick is being transparent with his players from the jump so no one is questioning what their role is.
Patrick Beverley: Rui Hachimura needs to do more for Lakers
Rui Hachimura is considered the Lakers’ fifth starter, but he is capable of producing at a higher lever than that, especially when he’s surrounded by other scoring threats. Former Lakers guard Patrick Beverley recently challenged Hachimura to do more for the Lakers in that starting group, believing it will help take pressure off other guys.
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