Lakerholics

That’s the question that will ultimately decide whether the Jekyll/Hyde Los Angeles Lakers can survive the inevitable Play-In Tournament and pull off another miracle playoff run and overcome the champion Denver Nuggets.

The Lakers surrounding James and Davis with three offense-first role players who can shoot the three worked well enough to turn their season around but now they need to fix their defense to be able to go any further.
Since January 15, when Darvin Ham reinstated D’Angelo Russell as the team’s starting point guard, the Lakers transformed their offense into a top-5 juggernaut but at the cost of seeing their defense dropping to bottom-5.

Obviously, the Lakers’ moves to boost the offense of their starting lineup was a rousing success but went too far. The Lakers would have been smarter to start at least one role player who could play good defense.
Fortunately, they’ll get a chance to fix this issue soon as Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Cam Reddish get healthy and are ready to play over the next couple of weeks, hopefully in time to impact the Lakers’ playoffs.

Right now, the Lakers appear doomed to having to win a playoff spot via the Play-In Tournament. With just 14 games left in the regular season, the best the Lakers can realistically hope for is to end up with #7 or #8 in West.
At best, the Lakers would have to win a play-in game to get to the playoffs and, at worst, two play-in games. Ideally, the Lakers want to win the #7 seed to avoid having to play the champion Denver Nuggets in the first round.

Let’s look at why the Russell/Reaves backcourt won’t work, the chance Vando will return before playoffs, whether he should start or come off the bench, and whether he’ll be the difference-maker the Lakers need.

---

Why Russell/Reaves Backcourt Won’t Work

While the D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves backcourt has elevated the Lakers’ offense to top-5 NBA status, the duo’s defensive liabilities have been a major problem, allowing opponents to average over 120 points per game.

Since January 15th when Darvin Ham reinstated D’Angelo Russell as the team’s starting point guard, the Lakers have posted an elite offensive rating of 119.1, second in the league behind the Celtics record-setting 123.4.
The problem for the Lakers is that their defensive rating during this stretch fell to 118.2, which ranks 28th out of 30 NBA teams and which reduces the team’s overall net rating since January 15th to just +1.0, which ranks 14th.

Surrounding their two superstars three offense-first players who could shoot the three transformed the Lakers into an offensive juggernaut but went too far and brutally exposed the team’s injury-weakened defense.
The Lakers desperately need better point-of-attack defense and rebounding and hope Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, and Cam Reddish will return soon and help them fix their defense down the stretch and in the playoffs.

While Ham does not like to change his starting lineups, there’s little doubt the Lakers need to replace one of their three offense-first starting role players with a defense-first starting role player to fix their poor defense.
Vincent will be the first defense-first role player who will soon be available, followed shortly afterward by Vanderbilt and then Reddish. Ham will likely wait to make any change in the starting lineup until Vanderbilt is ready.

The Lakers know they cannot win a championship with a defensively challenged Russell and Reaves backcourt. Once Vanderbilt, Vincent, or Reddish is healthy, Austin Reaves will likely move back to the bench.

---

Chance Vando Will Return Before Playoffs?

While Jarred Vanderbilt has not yet been cleared for non-contact work, the Lakers still remain hopeful he will be able to return to action sometime before April to give them the needed defensive push to make the playoffs.

Before spraining his right foot on February 1st, Vando had been playing the best basketball of his career. In the 10 games since January 15, he averaged 9.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 2.2 steals, and 0.2 blocks in 22.7 mpg.
Jarred’s stats were up from last year’s 7.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.2 blocks in 24.0 mpg. His 109.4 defensive rating since January 15th was the team-best and better than last season’s good 112.1.

Vando was originally projected to be re-evaluated early January. While he has not been cleared for non-contact or contact work at this point, he is no longer wearing a boot and could be able to return in a couple of weeks.
The Lakers essentially have four weeks and 14 games remaining in the 2023–24 regular season, with 7 or half of the games the last two weeks of March and the other 7 or half of the games in the first two weeks of April.

Besides being 6′ 10,” Jarred Vanderbilt is the best defender of the Lakers three defense-first role players. Vincent and Reddish are better point-of-attack defenders than Russell and Reaves but just not legit starter quality.
Vando is also the best offensive player of the three and also can point to the great success of last season’s run to the West conference finals to support his candidacy to replace Austin Reaves in the Lakers’ starting lineup.

The Lakers hope Vando will be ready to return by the end of March, which would give him two weeks and 7 games to get ready for play-in tournament, where the Lakers will have to win 2 games just to get into the playoffs.

---

Should Vando Start or Come Off the Bench?

The quickest and surest way for the Lakers to upgrade their starting lineup defense would be to turn starting shooting guard Austin Reaves into a sixth man and go big by replacing him with POA defender Jarred Vanderbilt.

Replacing the 6′ 5″ Austin Reaves with the 6′ 10″ Jarred Vanderbilt would not only improve the Lakers’ backcourt defense but also dramatically increase their front court size to help their defensive and offensive rebounding.
Moving Austin Reaves to lead guard off the bench will give the Lakers’ second unit desperately needed offensive firepower while allowing Vando to upgrade the starting lineup’s point-of-attack defense and rebounding.

Replacing Reaves with Vando would give the Lakers a jumbo starting lineup with 6′ 5″ Russell at point, 6′ 10″ Vanderbilt at shooting guard, 6′ 8″ James at small forward, 6′ 8″ Hachimura at power forward, and 6′ 10″ Davis at center.
This big lineup would not only allow the Lakers to ‘switch everything’ on the perimeter on defense, which is a better fit for the drop coverage Ham likes to play, but would also dramatically improve L.A.’s 3-point defense.

Playing shooting guard is actually a better fit for Vando than power forward. At shooting guard, Vando will have a dramatic size advantage over whomever guards him, which should help his contributions on offense.
That would help the Lakers control their defensive boards and limit the number of second chance opportunities they give up. Vando gives the Lakers a second elite defender to complement Anthony Davis on defense.

While Vando will likely come off the bench when he first returns from injury, look for the Lakers to move him into the starting shooting guard role once he’s 100% recovered from the foot sprain and in shape to play.

---

Could Vando Be Lakers’ Difference Maker?

Vando is the only player on the Lakers with the defensive talent to be the difference maker who can help the Lakers win two Play-In games to create a first-round rematch of last season’s West Conference Finals vs. Nuggets.

The Los Angeles Lakers starting lineup desperately needs a strong point-of-attack perimeter defender to pair with offense-first point guard D’Angelo Russell to restore a reasonable balance between offense and defense. Swapping offense-first Reaves for defense-first Vanderbilt gives the Lakers an elite defensive stopper with the size, quickness, and athleticism to guard opposing team’s stars like Steph Curry, Devin Booker, or Luka Doncic.

If Vando can produce 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while defending opponents’ top scorers, the Lakers would enjoy a better offense and defense balance in both their starting lineup and bench rotations.
Instead of having a top-5 offense and bottom-5 defense, the Lakers goal would be to generate a top-10 ranking both on offense and defense. That would give them the consistent play at both ends that they’ve been lacking.

While having Vincent and Reddish back for limited minutes will help, the key to transforming the Lakers starting lineup defense is Jarred Vanderbilt, who is the only role player on the Lakers who can be the difference maker.
We saw back in late January when Vando was in full stride that the Lakers defense could be a top-10. By replacing Reaves with Vando, the Lakers can not only fix their starting lineup defense but also their bench offense.

Jarred Vanderbilt is the only player on the Los Angeles Lakers current roster who is a difference maker capable of fixing the team’s starting lineup defense without sacrificing what’s now the NBA’s second best team offense.

Forget trading away depth and diversity for a third superstar like Trae Young. The Lakers’ top priority this offseason should be to bring back D’Angelo Russell, the missing piece to their championship puzzle.

If there’s anything Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers should have learned over the last 25 games since Darvin Ham put D’Angelo Russell back in the starting lineup, it’s that they may already have that needed third star.
Since returning to the starting lineup, Russell has delivered everything the Lakers could have hoped to get from a third star, including elite leadership, difference-making scoring, playmaking, and volume 3-point shooting.

Last night’s elite performance by D’Angelo Russell without LeBron James enabled the Lakers to stun the heavily favored Milwaukee Bucks and also confirmed that DLO is the third star the team should pursue this summer.
Russell elevating his game to star level forced the Lakers not only not to trade him at the deadline but could now end up forcing them to completely change direction this summer and make re-signing him their priority.

Let’s take a closer look at D’Angelo Russell’s third star game, whether it’s even sustainable, what it’s done for the Lakers’ championship potential, and what it means for their roster decisions and moves this summer.

---

What’s Behind D’Angelo Russell’s Break Out?

Watching from the bench, D’Angelo Russell decided the best way to complement superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis was to take advantage of them by being aggressive rather than deferring to them.

When Ham returned him to the starting lineup, Russell dramatically upped his minutes played, field goals attempted, points per game scored, and 3-point field goals made to the levels representative of the team’s third star.
Over the last 25 games, DLO raised his minutes per game from 29.1 to 36.1 (+24%), field goal attempts from 12.4 to 16.6 (+34%), points per game from 15.4 to 22.2 (+44%), and 3-pointers made per game from 2.2 to 3.9 (+77%).

D’Angelo Russell’s increase in minutes played, field goal attempts, points per game, and 3-pointers made per game have definitely elevated his usage and role to that of the team’s third star and clearly appear to be sustainable.
Russell’s transformation as the Lakers’ third star now has him playing the 2nd most minutes on the team, taking the 3rd most field goal attempts, scoring the 3rd most points, and leading the team in made 3–point shots.

What’s behind Russell’s break out? Since returning to starting lineup? DLO increased his minutes played, field goal attempts taken, points scored per game, and 3-point shots made per game to the elite level of a third star.

---

How Has DLO’s Evolution Changed Lakers?

Since reinstated as the Lakers’ starting point guard 25 games ago, D’Angelo Russell has definitely shown that he is fully capable of filling the role as the Lakers third offensive star and their designated volume 3-point specialist.

In the 25 games since he took over as the team’s third star, Russell has averaged 22.2 ppg and 16.6 FGA in 36.1 mpg, comparable to James’ 26.3 ppg on 18.9 FGA in 36.4 mpg and Davis’ 24.2 ppg on 16.7 FGA in 35.2 mpg.
Most importantly, D’Angelo Russell has shown he can continue to sustain third star level performance despite dramatically increased minutes, field goal attempts, points per game scored, and 3-point field goals made.

DLO’s emergence as the Lakers third star has significantly raised the Lakers’ floor and ceiling as a team. When all three play, the Lakers winning formula no longer demands they dominate the paint and free throw line.
Russell’s enhanced 3-point shooting has slashed in half what used to be a negative 10 points per game disadvantage for the Lakers in the 3-point shooting battle. That’s made it far easier for the Lakers to win games.

DLO’s reinventing himself as the Lakers’ third star and elite volume 3-point specialist has transformed the Lakers from a team that couldn’t shoot to one that now has the ability to rain threes as well as dominate in the paint.

---

The Summer of LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell?

If he can successfully finish the season in his new role as team’s third star and sustain that level of play throughout the playoffs, D’Angelo Russell could force the Lakers to re-sign him as their third superstar gong forward.

Frankly, there’s a good argument the Lakers should abandon their plans to pursue a third superstar like Trae Young or Donovan Mitchell this summer when they will have three first round picks and four pick swaps to trade.
Rather than using their valuable draft capital for a third superstar, the Lakers would be smart to instead re-sign D’Angelo Russell to be their third star and use their draft capital and matching salaries to upgrade the roster.

The last thing the Lakers want to do after finally building a deep and diverse roster to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis is to throw away all of the progres of the last few year to chase after a third superstar.
Trading for Trae Young or Donovan Mitchell would likely cost the Lakers four rotation players like Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Gabe Vincent as well as most of their tradable draft picks and swaps.

The Lakers would be smart to abandon the idea of trading away the farm to add a max salary superstar and instead focus on re-signing LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell and using their trade capital to build around them.

With the team stuck in 10th place and only 18 games left in the season, the Los Angeles Lakers would be smart to fire second-year head coach Darvin Ham right now rather than waiting until this summer to make the change.

While the Lakers will probably wait until the offseason to make a head coaching change, there are compelling reasons why they would be better off making the change right now rather than waiting until this summer.
Firing Ham right now could save the Lakers’ season and their relationship with LeBron James plus give them a head start on securing a new coach, deciding whom to keep, and resetting the franchise’s goals and priorities.

Everybody knew the Lakers were essentially sacrificing this season for the future when they decided not to make any moves at the deadline, leaving coach Ham with a flawed roster lacking critical frontcourt size and depth.
But Ham’s inability to handle the simple basic head coach responsibilities like building smart lineups, making the right substitutions, calling critical timeouts, and managing game strategies and tactics has been glaring.

Frankly, it seems inevitable that Darvin Ham will be fired this summer. The front office has reportedly had to intervene several times to resolve team rotation and playing time issues between Ham and disgruntled players.
The Lakers need to do whatever they can to save this season. As long as LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy and thriving, the reality is the Lakers will always have a puncher’s chance to win the NBA championship.

Here are five reasons why the Lakers should fire Darvin Ham right now rather than waiting until next summer, when their attention should be on building their next championship team, not searching for a new coach.

---

1. Only Opportunity To Save Season

While changing coaches at this point would be dramatic, the only way the Los Angeles Lakers can save this season is by firing Darvin Ham right now and replacing him with Phil Handy as the team’s Interim Head Coach.

There’s no question that Darvin Ham has lost this team, that LeBron James and Anthony Davis no longer are listening to or respect him. Waiting until this summer to replace him will only create more confusion and disarray.
After Tuesday night’s collapse against the Kings, the Lakers now have only a remote chance of making the top-6 in the West and will end up as one of four teams forced to win the Play-In Tournament to make the playoffs.

Throwing away a season where LeBron James and Anthony Davis are both healthy and playing like superstars would be pure basketball malfeasance. The Lakers should fire Ham now and give Phil Handy a chance to shine.
There’s a better chance Phil Handy could get the team to play better and win the head coaching job for next season than Darvin Ham could survive the rest of the season and be confirmed as head coach next summer.

The Lakers have always believed that they have a chance to beat any team if they have a healthy and thriving LeBron James and Anthony Davis heading into the playoffs. They showed last year that the Play-In couldn’t stop them.
What the Lakers need right now is for the team to fire Darvin Ham and promote Phil Handy to Interim Head Coach. That’s the only front office move they can make at this point to possibly save the 2023–24 season.

It’s obvious right now this Lakers team is not going to make the playoffs with Darvin Ham as head coach. The only way the Lakers can save this season is to fire Darvin Ham and promote Phil Handy to Interim Coach.

---

2. Jump Start Finding New Coach

The last thing the Lakers want to be doing next summer is searching for a new head coach when their focus should be on trading for a third superstar to support LeBron and AD and replace James when he decides to retire.

Firing Darvin Ham now would jump start the Lakers search to find his replacement. Besides giving Phil Handy a chance to show what he could do as the head coach, firing Ham opens door for L.A. to start searching.
Unfortunately, the list of available head coach candidates is largely filled with the usual retread list of out-of-work head coaches that includes Mark Jackson, Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, Terry Stotts, and Sam Cassell.

Other head coach candidates whom the Lakers might have interest include L.A. assistant coaches Phil Handy and Chris Jent as well as highly respected young coaches like the Kings’ Jordi Fernandez or the Bucks’ Charles Lee.
Phil Handy and Chris Jent both have strong relationships with LeBron James and either of them deserves to be given a trial opportunity to see if they could possibly fit as the long-term head coach of the Lakers.

The Lakers have never opted for what could be considered an open search for a head coach conducted by an elite professional executive search firm. Instead, Jeanie and Rob have always trusted their own private networks.
If the Lakers are likely to fire Darvin Ham this summer, doing it now could give them a valuable opportunity to see if Handy or Jent is up to the job and, if they’re not, they then get a head start on finding Jam’s replacement.

Should the Lakers no longer believe Darvin Ham is their coach of the future, firing him right now would be a smart move that would give them more time to to experiment and decide who will be their next coach.

---

3. Reevaluate Current Roster Needs

Another compelling reason why the Lakers need to fire Darvin Ham right now is he is simply in the way of finding out what they have in the current roster before they can finally decide what to do via trades this summer.

While the current scuttlebut is that the Lakers are going to try and pull off a blockbuster trade for a third max-salary superstar this summer, with Trae Young as the favored target, much still depends on the rest of the season.
Because of a plague of injuries and inept player evaluation and poor lineup construction by the coaching staff, the Lakers still are not sure what they have in D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and the rest of their young roster.

Even if the Lakers’ chances of winning a championship are remote, the rest of the season is critical to determining whom the team wants to keep and whom they no longer want. Darvin may not be the best coach to do that.
Ham has essentially bungled the lineups and rotations to the point where everybody believes the front office was eventually forced to intervene and order him to start Russell and Hachimura instead of Prince and Reddish.

Replacing Ham with either Handy or Jent would be a simple transition that could not only help the team win more games but also give the front office and coaching staff a fresh new look at each of the players under contract.
Before the Lakers trade away assets like Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, Christie, and Vanderbilt for a max salary $45 million per year third star, their front office clearly needs to be find out what they actually have.

Over the remaining 18 games, the Lakers need to find out just how valuable are D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura and whether they would be smarter to keep them or move them this summer.

---

4. Rebuild Relationship With LeBron

The single biggest reason why the Lakers should fire Darvin Ham now rather this summer is to jumpstart rebuilding the team’s relationship with superstar LeBron James, whose disdain for Ham has become public.

The front office declining to improve this roster at the trade deadline was the first insult to LeBron James. Forcing LeBron James to finish out this season playing for a coach whom he doesn’t like could be their second.
Everybody knows LeBron wants to stay with the Lakers but if this team misses the playoffs, James may ultimately decide to leave Los Angeles as a free agent rather than sign a new multiple year deal to retire as a Laker.

The reports of how LeBron ignores Ham during time outs and calls his own plays have been seen by everyone and Darvin’s bias for or against specific players and rotations was bearable when winning but not when losing.
Keeping Darvin Ham as head coach for the rest of the season may be the easy decision but the risk is LeBron James could become very weary of losing with the bad lineups and watching poor substitutions being made.

There is a negative dynamic at play with Darvin Ham and LeBron. Not only is not firing Ham now wasting one of few years left in LeBron James’ career as a Laker but it’s risking his ultimate personal loyalty to the franchise.
While the Lakers may not want to admit Darvin Ham was the wrong pick, the current discord between the coach, the players, and the fans is only going to get uglier. The Lakers and LeBron James do not need this.

The Lakers should fire Ham right now to prevent further damage to their relationship with LeBron James. Right now, it looks like James and Lakers are on course for new contract this summer. Don’t allow Ham to ruin that.

---

5. Reset Franchise Goals & Priorities

The final and most important reason the Lakers should fire Darvin Ham now rather than this summer is to have more time and opportunities to reset their franchise goals and priorities heading into a crucial offseason.

The other contributing factor that may be adversely affecting the morale and quality and consistency of the team’s play is the Lakers’ public plan to pull off a blockbuster trade this summer for a third max-salary superstar.
Make no mistake, to trade for a third superstar making $45 million per year, the Lakers would have to trade every player on their roster except for LeBron James and Anthony Davis and rely on minimum salary players

Unless Russell opts into his player option or agrees to a sign-and-trade, the only tradable contracts the Lakers will have this summer to match Trae Young’s $43 million would be Reaves, Hachimura, Vincent, and Vanderbilt.
Trading those four players for a third superstar like Trae Young would strip the Lakers of their depth and diversity and make them reliant on minimum salary players to fill out their starting lineup and regular season rotation.

There’s a strong argument that using their 3 first round picks and 4 pick swaps for a new starting stretch center and aggressive point-of-attack defender would be a smarter than going all-in again on a third superstar. There’s compelling evidence D’Angelo Russell has shown the Lakers he is the third star they need to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Lakers greatest priority should be to bring back D’Angelo Russell.

Firing Darvin Ham right now would give the Lakers valuable time and options to reset their franchise goals and priorities and make a smarter decision on how best to upgrade their roster to championship level.

In the 23 games since he returned to the starting lineup, D’Angelo Russell transformed the Los Angeles Lakers’ league-worst 3-point shooting from a major weakness into a newfound strength as L.A. begins their stretch run.

Before DLO turned himself into the high volume, high percentage 3-point bomber the Lakers desperately needed to provide floor spacing for LeBron James and Anthony Davis, L.A. had the worst 3-point game in the league.
Over the last 23 games, the Los Angeles Lakers increased their 3PM per game from 10.9 for first 40 games (#28) to 12.4 (#18), their 3PA per game from 30.4 (#30) to 31.2 (#28), and their 3P% from 35.7%(#20) to 39.7% (#4).

The driving force behind the Lakers’ dramatically better 3-point shooting the last 23 games has been D’Angelo Russell, who transformed himself into the elite high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter L.A. badly missed.
DLO raised his FGA per game from 12.4 for first 40 games to 16.5 (3rd to Davis’ 16.7) over the last 23 games, his minutes per game from 29.1 to 36.1, his 3PA per game from 5.5 to 8.5, and his 3PM per game from 2.2 to 3.7

By reinventing himself as the elusive difference-making volume 3-point shooter the Lakers have desperately needed, DLO has triggered a massive foundational change in the team’s blueprint for how to win NBA games.
Instead of a 10 points per game negative 3-point shooting differential that forced the Lakers to have to dominate PIP and FTM to have any chance to win, the Lakers have slashed that negative 10 ppg in half to just -5 ppg.

The 3-point challenged Lakers are suddenly taking and making more threes and that’s dramatically changed the team’s blueprint to win and renewed the importance of D’Angelo Russell to the franchise future.

---

DLO Reinvented Himself As Volume 3-Point Shooter

The Lakers seemingly never-ending search for a difference-making shooter who could revolutionize their 3-point game had been a monumental failure until D’Angelo Russell chose to reinvent himself as the shooter L.A. needed.

That Russell’s on pace to set a new Lakers’ record for 3-point shots made in a season despite only posting volume 3-point shot attempts the last 23 games is testament to just how poor Los Angeles’ 3-point game has been.
After a constant offseason rotation of supposedly lethal 3-point shooters who quickly forgot how to make shots after coming to L.A., the Lakers may have finally found a shooter to bring their offense into the 21st century.

In 23 games since he returned to the Lakers’ starting lineup, D’Angelo Russell has averaged 21.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 36.1 minutes with elite shooting splits of 46.3/43.9/84.5%.
That’s a big improvement over the first 40 games when he averaged 15.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 29.2 minutes shooting 46.9/39.0/76.6%. More minutes, shots, threes, points per game.

Most importantly, DLO dramatically increased the number of 3-point shots he took. During the first 40 games of the year, he averaged just 2.2 3PM pg out of 5.5 3PA pg for 39.4% from deep, a good but still limited performance.
During the last 23 games of the year, however, Russell not only increased his FGA pg from 12.4 to 16.5 but also increased his 3PA pg from 5.5 to 8.5. In last 23 games, 52% of DLO’s shots were threes vs. 35% first 40 games.

DLO has continued to shine in his new role as the team’s 3rd star and high volume 3-point specialist. By this summer, D’Angelo Russell could be as untouchable as LeBron James and Anthony Davis when it comes to trades.

---

DLO Changed Lakers’ Blueprint For Winning Games

The Lakers’ blueprint to win in the four years since LeBron signed has been to win games by dominating PIP (points-in-paint) and FTM (free-throws-made) by more points than they give up in the 3-point shooting battle.

That’s become a more difficult blueprint to follow for the Lakers as teams throughout the league are taking and making more 3-point shots than ever before. Suddenly, Russell’s 3-point game transformation has opened a door.
DLO’s expanded shot-making not only made him so valuable the Lakers were unable to find an acceptable deal to trade him. If he can continue to produce volume 3-point shooting at this level, he may be untouchable.

Everything changed the moment DLO decided the best way for him to succeed next to superstars James and Davis was to take advantage of the attention they attract by being aggressive rather than deferring to them. Playing more minutes and taking the same number of shots per game as the Lakers’ two superstars, DLO has put up legitimate All-Star numbers and reinvented himself after returning to the starting lineup 23 games ago.

During the first 40 games of the season, the Lakers won PIP by 5.6 ppg (54.0–48.4) and FTM by 3.0 ppg (18.8–15.8) but lost 3PM by 10.5 ppg (3*[10.9–14.4]) for a net -1.9 ppg, which resulted in a 19–21 win-loss record.
During the last 23 games, the Lakers totally changed their winning formula. They won PIP by 3.8 ppg (59.2–55.4) and FTM by 4.6 ppg (17.8–13.2) but only lost 3PM by -4.2 ppg (3*[12.4–13.8]) for a net +4.2 ppg and 15–8 record.

DLO’s reinventing himself as the high volume 3-point shooter the Lakers needed has transformed the Lakers from one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league to a team that can suddenly rain threes on opponents.

Benching D’Angelo Russell late in the 4th quarter vs. Denver was coaching malpractice that not only cost the Lakers the game but likely any chance to win a title this season by alienating and undermining their 3rd best player.

With the Lakers trailing the Nuggets 99–98 with 7:48 left in the 4th quarter, Darvin Ham benched D’Angelo Russell, who had been playing well and was on the way to redeeming his poor play against Denver in last year’s playoffs.
At that point, D’Angelo Russell had posted 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists with zero turnovers in less than 30 minutes while recording a team-best +2 plus/minus and team-best 119 defensive rating.

The move to rely on Cam Reddish’s defense rather than D’Angelo Russell’s offense was a disaster. By the time Ham replaced Reddish with Russell with 1:34 left in the game, the Lakers’ deficit had ballooned from 1 to 7 points.
Russell had been one of the major reasons the Lakers were within 1 point of the Nuggets with 7:48 left in the 4th quarter. Replacing him with the offensively-challenged Cam Reddish was a wrong move at the wrong time.

Ham wasted two-thirds of the season trying to build a championship caliber defensive team before reinstalling the offense-first starting lineup that carried the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals last season.
The last thing the Lakers need right now is for Ham to undermine what has been working for the Lakers by alienating the one player in DLO who’s been mainly responsible for the team turning into an offensive juggernaut.

Losing the game was unfortunate but what’s more worrisome is how Russell is going to react to again being benched against the Nuggets down the stretch of the game just like during last season’s conference finals.

---

HOW DOES D’ANGELO RUSSELL RESPOND?

Instead of building up Russell’s confidence by counting on him to close out the game, Ham did the opposite by replacing him again with Reddish, the same player he earlier in the year gifted with an unearned starting spot.

Make no mistake, reinstating D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves as the starting backcourt was the move that woke this team up to make a push to make the playoffs this season despite standing pat at the trade deadline.
That Darvin Ham would, in the midst of the Lakers’ biggest game of the season, suddenly pull the plug again on D’Angelo Russell in favor of Cam Reddish, is the final straw. Darvin Ham should be fired as Lakers’ coach.

Darvin Ham’s stubborn refusal to play the lineups responsible for the Lakers making it to the conference finals last season has been perplexing. Ham’s seeming embrace of new over old players has been a major issue.
Ham’s over reliance on new signees like Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish over proven returnees from last season like D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves has been a constant defense-over-offense theme all season long.

I have no problem with coaches who emphasize defense over offense as I think a strong defense is how you build a championship team. It’s the anchor you can count on to be more consistent than just shot making.
Unfortunately, great offense in today’s NBA often beats great defense and championship teams usually have great balance between offense and defense. Defense or offense alone is never enough to win a championship.

How D’Angelo Russell reacts to being benched for Cam Reddish could determine how this season goes for the Lakers. Ham’s decision was a slap in the face of DLO. No way he wants to play for Darvin going forward.

---

D’ANGELO RUSSELL GONE IN FREE AGENCY

With the Lakers committed to using the 3 first round picks and 3 pick swaps available this offseason to trade for a third superstar to join LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers are going to need DLO’s help.

The last thing the Lakers want next summer is D’Angelo Russell to decline his player option, spurn the Lakers, and sign as a free agent with another team this summer, leaving Los Angeles with nothing to show in return.
Considering the Lakers will need $40.0 million in matching salaries to trade for a third superstar this summer, they desperately need to include an $18.7 million sign-and-trade deal for DLO as part of their blockbuster trade offer.

Darvin Ham’s benching of D’Angelo Russell in the 4th quarter vs. the Nuggets will ultimately end up with DLO refusing to re-sign or cooperate with the Lakers because of Ham or of the Lakers replacing Ham as coach.
Throw in the rumors of LeBron’s dissatisfaction with Darvin as well as the number of times the front office has had to intervene to force the stubborn Ham to adjust his lineups to boost the offense efficiency and win games.

Coaching is as much art as it is science but Ham appears to rely more on his gut than what the analytics are telling him. Prince, for example, has long been the least productive Lakers role player given the most minutes.
Coaches need to establish guidelines and systems to simplify making up starting lineups and rotations and ensure the team always has enough scoring and defense to compete rather than always going by their gut.

Benching Russell for Reddish for more than 6 critical stretch minutes was just further evidence that Darvin Ham’s future as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers is likely to come to an unfortunate ugly end this summer.