How Can Lakers Integrate Returning Defenders Without Stifling Offense?

The challenge for Darvin Ham will be how to integrate 4 defense-first role players returning from injury into the offense-first 9-man starting lineup and rotation that has transformed the Lakers into an offensive juggernaut.

There’s no question the Lakers’ new starting lineup of Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, James, and Davis and 4-man bench of Dinwiddie, Prince, Wood, and Hayes have been magnificent, winning 6 of their last 7 games.
The Lakers’ new 9-man rotation has increased their offensive rating to top-5 in the league with only a minor decrease in defensive rating in the 16 games since Ham decided to start Russell and Reaves as team’s backcourt.

But the likely need for better point-of-attack perimeter defense than what a Russell and Reaves backcourt could provide and the possible return from injury of Reddish, Christie, Vincent, and Vanderbilt could portend change. Everyone knows defense wins championships but the offensive talent in the NBA is now so dominant that ‘great offense beating great defense’ has become the norm, which is exactly what we’re seeing from the Lakers.

After struggling to build a defense-first starting lineup and rotation that could win games, Ham was forced by injuries to return to the same starting lineup the Lakers used to make it to the conference finals last season.
That current starting lineup of Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, James, and Davis and 9-player rotation with Dinwiddie, Prince, Wood, and Hayes as primary backups has been playing great during the last 16 games stretch.

Darvin Ham’s biggest mistake was forgetting how important great offense is to winning in the NBA. In retrospect, you build championship starting lineups by understanding that great offense usually beats great defense.
Ham should have prioritized continuity and stuck with the starting lineup that carried the Lakers to the conference finals instead of deciding to break up the Russell and Reaves starting backcourt because they couldn’t defend..

Let’s look at the options Ham could have to tweak the starting lineup and rotation with the signing of Spencer Dinwiddie and possible return from injury of Cam Reddish, Max Christie, Gabe Vincent, and Jarred Vanderbilt.

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Starting Lineup Options

While there are concerns whether D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves can be a championship backcourt, reports indicate the Lakers would prefer to retain the current starting lineup for continuity for the foreseeable future.

There’s no question experience playing with each other was a major factor in how quickly and easily it was for the core group from last year’s starting lineup to immediately click and gain rapport when playing together again. Considering DLO’s evolution as third star, Reaves’ resurgence after a tough start, Davis’ emergence as a legitimate point center, and Rui’s embrace of full playoff-mode attack, this could be LeBron’s best supporting cast ever.

The only reason the Lakers should consider changing the current starting lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis would be for better point-of-attack perimeter defense.
There certainly will be matchups where the Lakers could benefit from having a better point-of-attack perimeter defender like Dinwiddie, Vincent, Reddish, Christie, or Vanderbilt if he can return before the end of season.

The single obvious move the Lakers could consider would be to revert to the starting lineup they used to get to the conference finals last season, which would mean Jarred Vanderbilt replacing Rui Hachimura at the three.
That’s a change the Lakers would be smart to consider heading into the playoffs should Vanderbilt’s injury turn out not to be season-ending. Vando is the one defender who is a big enough difference maker to be a starter.

The other possible starting lineup the Lakers should consider is Spencer Dinwiddie replacing Rui Hachimura, which would essentially have the Lakers playing a three-guard lineup with Russell, Reaves, and Dinwiddie. Everybody knows Darvin Ham loves 3-guard lineups so expect to see a lot of Russell, Reaves, and Dinwiddie lineups, especially when teams go small. Dinwiddie just has a bigger bag of skills to impact teammates than Rui.

In the end, the Lakers are likely to continue Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, James, and Davis as starters for the remaining 26 games on the regular season schedule and trust they have the bench to backup their starters.

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Primary Backup Options

The Lakers current 9-man rotation includes a bench of new point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, former starter Taurean Prince, stretch four Christian Wood, and athletic rim protector and offensive rebounder Jaxson Hayes.

The challenge facing Lakers’ coach Darvin Ham is what does he do when Cam Reddish, Max Christie, and Gabe Vincent are finally healthy and ready to go or if Jarred Vanderbilt’s injury is not season-ending and he’s available?
Ham would be smart to not try and force Reddish, Christie, or Vincent into the current rotation unless there’s an injury. Frankly, Vanderbilt is the only one of the four returning defenders that clearly deserves rotation minutes.

The 30–26 Lakers have won 3 in a row and 6 of last 7 games. They’re 9th in the West and with 26 games left, 2.0 games behind the Kings for 8th, 2.5 behind the Mavs for 7th, and 3.5 games behind Pelicans and Suns for 5th. Last season, the Lakers were 25–31 after 56 games and 13th in the West, forcing them to go 18–8 over last 26 games to finish 43–39 and 7th in West. If the Lakers can go 18–8 this year, they’d finish 48–34 and be 5th in West.

The Lakers need to commit to the current offensive-oriented starting lineup and 9-man rotation. Right now, the best backups for Russell and Reaves are Dinwiddie and Christie, who are both better defensively.
While the Lakers could certainly use the defense Christie and Reddish could provide now and Vincent and Vanderbilt might be able to provide later, Ham needs to be careful not to stifle their offensive juggernaut.

Ham’s best strategy is to limit changes to the Lakers’ current 9-man rotation to adding one additional perimeter defender to create a 10-man rotation, which could be scaled down further once the team makes the playoffs.
The key to the Lakers being able to replicate last season’s stretch run is health. Right now, the team is close to being as healthy as they have been all season. Their path to the playoffs should be much easier this season.

The Lakers should commit to a new 10-player rotation with Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, James, and Davis as the starting lineup and Dinwiddie, Prince, Vanderbilt (Christie if no Vando), Wood, and Hayes coming off the bench.