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Darvin Ham

Lakers’ Playoff Hopes Will Live Or Die With Rookie Head Coach Darvin Ham

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The Lakers’ win last night against the Oklahoma City Thunder without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and D’Angelo Russell was nothing short of a ‘must win’ game Los Angeles needed to keep their playoff dreams alive.

With LeBron James out for at least half and possibly the rest of the regular season, the Lakers’ rapidly diminishing hopes of making the playoffs and enjoying a championship run are now hanging by the thinnest of threads.
Realistically, the Lakers’ only remaining path to the playoffs is an inspired Davis taking the baton from an injured James and somehow, someway finding a way to win enough games to make the Play-In Tournament.

With LeBron’s return uncertain, the season is now in the hands of Darvin Ham. The Lakers will live or die on his ability to motivate players, play the right lineups and rotations, make the right adjustments, and win a title.
Frankly, it will take a perfect storm of good-news wins and injury-free games for Ham and the Lakers to even have a shot at making the playoffs but the parity in the West still leaves the door open for a Lakers run.

So let’s take a hard look at how Darvin Ham has grown over the past year and see if his coaching strengths as a motivator, lineup and rotation creator, and in-game adjuster have become good enough to win a ring.

Ham’s Motivational Ability?

Darvin Ham’s greatest strength and asset as a basketball coach is his ability to build strong personal relationships with his players and convince them to buy in to his vision of how the game of basketball should be played.

Earlier in the season, we saw Ham’s interpersonal skills first hand as he convinced Westbrook to come off the bench and motivated Davis and then James to elevate their games and carry the team while the other was out.
More importantly, Ham was able to motivate the players on the Lakers’ roster to play hard and compete. There were very few of the blowouts that marked Frank Vogel’s last season. Lakers were gritty bunch under Ham.

We saw more of the kind of job Darvin Ham has done integrating the six new Lakers players in the big win over the OKC Thunder last night without their top three stars in LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and D’Angelo Russell.
Ham played basically a 9-man rotation with a few throw-in minutes for Max Christie. The Lakers won 123–117 with Schroder, Brown, and Reaves all playing big roles and 9 of the 10 Lakers who played scoring over 5 points.

Despite six new players and missing his three best players, Darvin Ham had the Lakers ready to win last night and his ability to get players to buy in and play hard for him bodes well for the Lakers’ LeBron-less stretch run.

Ham’s Lineups and Rotations?

It’s hard to fairly evaluate Darvin Ham’s early lineups and rotations because of the flawed roster given him by Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office. Having said that, Ham’s rookie rotations likely cost the Lakers a few losses.

While Anthony Davis will be the key to whether the Lakers can finish the regular season and make the playoffs without LeBron James, rookie head coach Darvin Ham’s lineup and rotation decisions will be just as critical.
The hope after the trade deadline was the new-look Lakers would be able to finish the season with a consistent starting lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, LeBron James, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Anthony Davis.

With James possibly not returning until the playoffs and no timeframe set yet for Russell’s return, Ham will be responsible for deciding who replaces James and Russell to start and close and who will be in the main rotation.
Hopefully, the new-look roster is better balanced and has more options for size, shooting, and defense at every position that Ham should find it much easier to develop a solid starting and closing lineup and related rotations.

Ham will need to shake his rookie jitters and make sound decisions on who will start and close games and be in his middle of game rotations, which should be much easier now that the roster has been completely rebuilt.

Ham’s In-Game Adjustments?

Making in-game adjustments is clearly Darvin Ham’s greatest area that needs improvement. While it is an expected weakness for a rookie head coach, it’s also what Ham needs to improve most for the Lakers to win.

It appears part of Ham’s coaching philosophy is to focus on doing what the team should be doing before giving up and changing strategy or scheme, which has been a criticism his mentor Mike Budenholzer has also heard.
Ham was justifiably criticized for waiting until the fourth quarter to try having Jarred Vanderbilt defend Ja Morant after he torched the Lakers for 28 points in the third quarter. Or for having AD stop playing drop coverage.

Lately, however, there have been some good positive signs that Ham is starting to be less reluctant to try changes to mix things up. He went to the zone against the Thunder and the players he closed with won the game.
Darvin also deserves credit for how he handled Schroder’s embarrassing quitting in the middle of a play in the closing minutes of the 4th quarter. Ham immediately pulled Dennis and got him ready to go last night.

Darvin Ham’s still going to make rookie mistakes but he’s learning fast and has increasingly shown to be capable of handling what is obviously a very challenging head coaching job. His in-game adjustments are improving.

Ham’s Chances To Win Championship?

The one thing that gives Lakers fans the most hope Darvin Ham can lead this team to the playoffs and beyond ishow hard players play for him and how they never quit, whether superstars and back-end-of-rotation guys.

Last night Lakers win over the Thunder without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and D’Angelo Russell and with five new players who weren’t here a week ago in the rotation was a tribute to the hard work of Darvin Ham.
The Lakers were not only ready to play but ready to win without their stars. Game balls to Dennis Schroder, Troy Brown, Jr., and Austin Reaves, who bounced back great after tough games in the Grizzlies’ loss in Memphis.

There’s been considerable controversy about the Lakers having Anthony Davis take a long-term planned ‘load management’ game off last night after Darvin Ham had said all of his players would play every game unless hurt.
In the end, critics thought the Lakers should have had AD sit out against the Grizzlies but play against the Thunder. The alternative, which makes more sense, is the Lakers played Davis against Denver hoping to win both games.

The Lakers are understandably moving towards more load management for James and Davis to keep them fresher and heathier. Ham’s development of the rest of the roster could be the key to the Lakers winning #18.

Why Jarred Vanderbilt Is The Missing Puzzle Piece to Top-5 Lakers’ Defense

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Jarred Vanderbilt couldn’t have asked for a better venue to showcase to the basketball world why he’s the missing puzzle piece to transforming the Los Angeles Lakers languishing defense back to a top-5 squad in the NBA.

In an electrifying performance, Vanderbilt showed why he could be the steal of the trade deadline as his dominating defense on Luka Doncic and energizing hustle and aggression fueled the Lakers’ monster comeback.
Vando’s 15 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 steals were at the heart of every run the Lakers put together to bounce back from their 27-point deficit early in the second quarter and stun the Dallas Mavericks with a 111–108 victory.

More importantly, Vanderbilt’s game saving performance cemented how impactful he has become for Lakers defensively with his elite hops and rebounding and combo of defensive quickness, physicality, and length.
There has only been one instance in the history of the NBA where a team that was not a top-10 defensive team was able to win the championship. Vando could be the player who transforms the Lakers to a top-5 defense.

Since trading for Vando, the Lakers have gone 4–1 and are currently on a 3-game winning streak and their defense, which ranked in the bottom third of the league before the trade, has been the league 3rd best since the trade.
Whether the Lakers’ new look roster gells soon enough to make playoffs or they have to wait until next season to make a run for #18, the Lakers know they now have found the key player they needed to revitalize their defense.

So let’s take a closer look at why Jarred Vanderbilt has been such a great fit in the Lakers’ starting lineup and why he could be the missing puzzle piece to transforming Los Angeles’ languishing team defense into a top-5 unit.

Vanderbilt Gives Lakers Elite Wing Defender

The Lakers biggest defensive weakness the past three years has been the lack of a 6′ 8″ wing defender who could shut down or slow down the bigger guard and wing scorers in the West like Luka Doncic and Paul George.

Credit to someone in the Lakers organization who had the vision to think outside the box and find a better solution to a wing defender than spending all of their valuable trade capital for an elite option like O.G. Anunoby.
The answer was the brilliant 3-team trade where Pelinka got the defensive wing they desperately need in Vanderbilt and the necessary high volume, high percentage 3-point gunners in Russell and Beasley to make it work.

Pairing an elite wing defender who can’t shoot with two high volume 3-point gunners with good size was an inspired solution to the Lakers’ desperate need for a wing defender while still improving their spacing.
Vanderbilt has been the difference maker the Lakers’ defense needed, giving them an elite versatile defender who can defend all five positions. Teams now have to game plan for Vanderbilt when playing the Lakers.

Vanderbilt showcased his defensive stopper capabilities to the max against the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, who leads the NBA in scoring. Luka went 0–3 and turned the ball over 5 times when defended by Vanderbilt.
Visibly frustrated by Vanderbilt, Luka struggled to maintain his usual control over the game pace as Jarred’s quickness, physicality, and 6′ 8″ size and 7′ 1″ wingspan forced him to speed up his game and make errors.

Thanks to outside-the-box front office thinking, Jarred Vanderbilt now gives the Lakers an elite 6′ 8″ wing defender with size, length, quickness, and physicality to shut or slow down the West’s bigger wing scorers.

Vanderbilt ‘Completes’ Lakers’ Front Court

Jarred Vanderbilt is also the perfect fit as third member of what could be the NBA’s best defensive backcourt. His size, length, quickness, athleticism, savvy, and physicality complement and ‘complete’ the Lakers’ front court.

Finally, after three full years of watching the small forward position being poorly manned by shooting guards, the Lakers have finally given the small forward position back to the front court through 6′ 8″ Jarred Vanderbilt. What Vanderbilt does is create an almost interchangeable front court trio with James and Davis that can defend all three front court positions and has versatility to switch in the front court. No more small ball for Lakers.

Vando ‘completes’ the Lakers in that he provides everything their two superstars need in a third front court player: great defender, cutter, rebounder, and passer who does all of the little things that matter.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis have never had a third front court member as impactful as Jarred Vanderbilt. He could make this Lakers front court even better than the 2020 championship front court in the bubble.

Vanderbilt is only 23-years old and has two years left on his contract with an annual salary under $5 million, which means he’s likely to become a staple alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis for the next three years.
Finding that third front court member who complements and completes the Lakers front court was a huge plus for the Lakers’ chances to make the playoffs this season and emerge as a consistent contender going forward.

With a towering, long, and athletic front court trio with 6′ 8″, 6′ 8″, and 6′ 10″ size 7′ 0″, 7′ 1′, and 7′ 6″ wingspans, the Los Angeles Lakers have what could become the best defensive front court in the league the next few years.

Vanderbilt Helps Lakers Backcourt Defense

The key to balancing the Lakers’ starting lineup to include a non-shooter like Jarred Vanderbilt is starting a pair of volume 3-point gunners D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley, who together take over 15 threes per game.

Since the Lakers traded for Russell, Beasley, and Vanderbilt, who all played together on the Minnesota Timberwolves before being traded to the Jazz as part of the Rudy Gobert deal, their backcourt defense has been excellent.
In fact, during the Lakers current 3-game win streak, the three Lakers players with the best individual defensive rating were surprisingly D’Angelo Russell at 83.5, Malik Beasley at 88.3, and Jarred Vanderbilt at 93.7.

The combination of having Vanderbilt defend the opposing team’s leading scorer, who’s often a guard, and having three elite rim protectors in James, Davis, and Vanderbilt in the front court helps L.A.’s backcourt defense.
That Russell, Beasley, and Vanderbilt have played together before on the Wolves also had to help them get off to a good start in purple and gold. There were moments when the Laker defense was rotating on a string.

D’Angelo Russell is 6′ 5″ with a 6′ 10″ wingspan and Malik Beasley 6′ 4″ with a 6′ 7″ wingspan, which makes the Lakers backcourt bigger. With Schroder moving to the bench, the Lakers suddenly have a bigger starting lineup.
That positional size and length advantage translates into more rebounds, dunks, layups, blocks, and steals throughout the game. After suffering from being undersized, watching the Lakers bully ball other teams is fun.

Having D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley post the best defensive ratings on the entire Lakers team for the current 3-game win streak is encouraging since both guards were brought in for their offense, not their defense.

Vanderbilt Makes Lakers Top-5 Defense

NBA history is studded with great players like Ron Artest,Dennis Rodman, and Draymond Green who found ways to become championship players despite not being shooters. The Lakers think Jarred Vanderbilt is another.

In the 5 games since the trade deadline, the Lakers have a 4–1 record and a team defensive rating of 106.8, which 3rd best in the NBA for that period. During the recent 3-game win streak, they had an even better 104.2 rating.
One of Rob Pelinka’s goals at the trade deadline was to improve the Lakers’ defense as well as their offense, which is why Rob demanded Vanderbilt be part of the trade and why they pursued Bamba in the end over Bogdanovic.

Pelinka knows defense wins championships and the current roster needed help on the defensive side and the offensive side. Before the trade, the Lakers had #19 OffRtg at 113.1, #20 DefRtg at 114.3, and #24 NetRtg at -1.1.
For the 5 games after the trade, the Lakers had #21 OffRtg at 112.4, #3 DefRtg at 106.8, and #7 NetRtg at 5.6. While the deadline trades have not yet helped the Lakers’ offense, they’ve definitely given L.A. a defensive boost.

The Lakers simply need to play like a top-5 defense for the 21 games left on their regular season schedule. That means posting a defensive rating below 110.0 for the rest of the regular season, which L.A. should be able to do.
The challenge for the Lakers is going to be to stay healthy. We already heard that James and Russell will both miss tomorrow night’s game against the Grizzlies. Hopefully, they’ll both be ready to play Wednesday night.

With Vanderbilt becoming their shut down wing defender, ‘completing’ the Lakers front court, and helping the backcourt defend better, the Lakers have a chance to enter the playoffs with a dominant top-5 team defense.

Darvin Ham’s New Look Lineups Have Lakers Poised For Championship Run!

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Everything’s suddenly coming up roses for the Lakers as the first preview of head coach Darvin Ham’s new look starting lineup and rotation powered Los Angeles to a dominating 120–102 coast-to-coast win over New Orleans.

Two days after proclaiming Schröder and Russell as his starting backcourt, Darvin Ham reversed course and unveiled a new innovative starting lineup for Wednesday night’s game that could change everything for the Lakers.
Darvin Ham’s surprising new Lakers’ starting lineup has D’Angelo Russell at point guard, Malik Beasley at shooting guard, Jarred Vanderbilt at small forward, LeBron James at power forward, and Anthony Davis at center.

The new lineup addresses the Lakers’ two greatest needs: a pair of volume 3-point shooting guards with gravity to create spacing and a bigger wing defender who can guard opposing team’s leading scorer at all three levels.
Russell, Beasley, and Vanderbilt played together on the Timberwolves, which made their first integration with James and Davis smoother and easier as the Lakers suddenly looked like a potential playoff juggernaut.

Right now, the 27–32 Lakers have 23 games remaining on their regular season schedule, that restarts next Thursday against the Warriors. The Lakers need to win almost every single game to make the playoffs.
To finish 10th and make the play-in, they need to win 14 of 23 for a 41–41 record. To finish 8th, they need to win 16 of 23 for a 43–39 record. To finish 6th and make the playoffs, they need to win 18 of 23 for a 45–37 record.

After watching their new lineups, the Lakers’ long-shot path to the playoffs suddenly looks more like a slam dunk. Barring injury, the Lakers are about to become the nightmare team that nobody wants to face in the playoffs.
The Lakers were a doomed team last week, their front office questioning whether to even make a move to save the season. That now appears to have been all posturing as Rob Pelinka and the Lakers won the trade deadline.

Ham’s new lineups now have the Lakers looking at bigger targets than just making the play-in tourney or the playoffs. The Lakers believe their new lineups and rotation have them potentially poised for a championship run.

Rob Pelinka Finally Shows His Royal Flush

Sometimes, the best opportunities to redefine who you are, reestablish an identity, or create a new vision for the future happen after a team has made a horrendous mistake that threatens the viability of the franchise.

That’s exactly what happened with the Los Angeles Lakers this season. After struggling to figure out how to get out of the hole in which the Westbrook trade had left them, Rob Pelinka found a vision to embrace.
Westbrook caused the Lakers to rethink everything. Three superstars vs. two superstars? Cap space vs. tradable contracts? Win now vs. build for the future? The value of draft picks. How to make a third superstar work?

As the trade deadline approached, Pelinka knew the Lakers needed more than tweaks not only to give the team a shot at making the playoffs and winning #18 but also to position them to be a major player this summer.
Pelinka knew the Lakers needed an extreme makeover and set a goal to swap six players, all but one on expiring contracts, and one protected first round pick for three new starters and three new primary backups.

But before Pelinka could execute his bold trade deadline plan to rebuild the Lakers, Kyrie Irving turned the NBA world on its head by demanding a trade from the Nets with the L.A. Lakers as his preferred destination.
This was the ultimate test for Pelinka. Could a last minute trade for a third superstar once again derail Lakers’ plans to build a deep, diverse roster? This time Rob resisted the Nets’ crazy demands and returned back to plan.

The trades Pelinka had lined up had already produced Hachimura, Russell, Beasley, and Vanderbilt when Rob reportedly gave up trying to trade Beverley and Walker for Bogdanovic and instead traded for Mo Bamba.
Rob solved the Lakers’ need for size, shooting, and defense with six bigger, younger, better players, including two new starting guards and one starting defensive wing plus a backup shooting guard, forward, and rim protector.

By keeping one of the picks, trading for younger players with more upside, and negotiating strong top-4 protection on the pick that traded to Utah, Pelinka was able to protect and actually enhance the Lakers’ future.
Should the Lakers make the playoffs and be fortunate enough to win their 18th NBA Championship, those observers, including myself, who thought the Lakers were the biggest trade deadline winner will be vindicated.

Bottom line, while trying to find a way out of the Westbrook disaster, Rob Pelinka’s ended up finding an innovative vision he could embrace for a new and different Lakers’ team that’s built to win both today and tomorrow.

Darvin Ham Embraces New Look Lakers Lineups

After being mercilessly trolled for his earlier starting lineups and rotations, Darvin Ham is now receiving universal praise for the new look Lakers’ lineups that he previewed against the Pelican last Wednesday night.

There’s been no behind-the-scenes reporting on how and why Darvin Ham suddenly changed his mind two days after declaring Dennis Schröder and D’Angelo Russell would be his starting backcourt for the foreseeable future.
Whether it was his own decision or whether he was following counsel from Rob Pelinka or others, Ham clearly made the right decision and the Lakers’ performance Wednesday night clearly validated his new look lineups.

The decision by Rob Pelinka and the front office to completely rebuild the Lakers’ starting lineup and rotation with just 23 games left was a complete surprise considering the franchise’s inaction the past two trade deadlines.
It was also a strong vote of confidence in rookie head coach Darvin Ham, who had been specifically included in the trade deadline strategy meetings and was closely involved as the Lakers’ final trade deadline plans evolved.

While I’ve been a strong Darvin Ham supporter, I’ve also been highly critical of his lineups, rotations, and substitutions. What drives me crazy about Darvin is he won’t set rules to help manage his lineups and rotations.
The Lakers have two superstars, two point guards, two rim protectors. Every single Lakers lineup that sets foot on the court should have one superstar, one point guard, and one rim protector as part of its fivesome.

There’s no question some of those earlier lineups were probably the best Ham could do with what Pelinka had given him. Fortunately, the new look roster is deeper, bigger, and more diverse than Darvin’s earlier roster.
The key will be can the new look Lakers lineups defend. Based on last Wednesday’s preview, the signs are promising. The Lakers starting lineup has two defenders who can defend all five positions at all three levels.

The Lakers took a huge risk in hiring a rookie head coach like Darvin Ham but he’s held up well in face of serious challenges in getting Westbrook to accept coming off the bench and dealing with James’ and Davis’ injuries.
Now Darvin will get a chance to coach with a roster that’s deep and diverse and a perfect fit for LeBron James and Anthony Davis. And with his new look lineups, Ham’s ready to go with the right players in the right positions.

With 23 games left in the season, this Laker are now firmly in the hands of rookie head coach Darvin Ham, who’s finally going to have a chance to coach the quality of team we expected to when he was hired by the Lakers.

Why Darvin Ham’s Starting Lineups And Rotations Could Be Big Problem

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The 26–32 Los Angeles Lakers got a potential season-saving infusion of talent before the trade deadline as Rob Pelinka pulled off four trades that brought back six new players, including five who will be in the rotation.

That means Lakers’ rookie head coach Darvin Ham must put together revised starting lineups and rotations that include Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Mo Bamba.
That could be worrisome as Ham’s questionable starting lineups and rotations, baffling preference for starting Dennis Schröder, and strange penchant for playing three-guard mini-lineups were heavily criticized.

With just 24 regular season games left in their season, the Lakers need to win almost every single game to make the play-in or playoffs and simply don’t have time to experiment with different starting lineups or rotations.
They will only have one chance to decide who starts and who is a backup. The Lakers desperately need rookie head coach Darvin Ham to make the right decisions on their starting lineups and rotations to win games.

That’s a heavy burden to put on a rookie head coach who’s already had to deal with major roster issues like talking Russell Westbrook into coming off the bench and dealing with a roster seriously lacking in size and shooting.
Ham’s won universal praise for how he handled Westbrook and for getting the Lakers to hang around without James and then without Davis but it’s up to him to construct a winning starting lineup and rotation for stretch run.

So let’s take a look at whom Darvin Ham is likely to start for the Lakers and whom is he’s likely to include in rotation as backups coming off the bench as the Lakers prepare to make one last-ditch stretch-run for the playoffs.

Lakers’ Starting Lineup

While it could change, it currently appears Lakers’ coach Darvin Ham will start Dennis Schröder, D’Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura alongside superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis for their final 24-games.

The criticism of Ham’s decision has been immediate and fierce because starting a non-shooter like Schröder does not help the Lakers’ spacing and forces them to use shooting guard Austin Reaves as backup point guard.
After the trade deadline moves, everybody expected D’Angelo Russell to become the starting point guard and Dennis Schröder to replace Russell Westbrook as the team’s 6th man and point guard for the second unit.

The issue is also not that Schroder isn’t capable of playing mostly off the ball as a shooting guard, it’s that there are better options that provide the Lakers with better outside shooting and spacing for James and Davis.
Starting Schroder also likely prevents starting another non-shooter like Jarred Vanderbilt, who could be the starting small forward and shut- down defender if the team started a shooter like Malik Beasley at the two.

After watching Malik Beasley catch fire and hit 6 of 12 threes in a quarter and a half, one has to wonder at why Ham would not want to start Russell and Beasley, both of whom are among the top-15 in 3-point attempts.
A Lakers’ starting lineup with a backcourt of Russell and Beasley and a front court of Vanderbilt, James, and Davis would have elite 3-point shooting and a shut-down defender to guard other team’s leading scorer.

Darvin Ham needs to rethink starting Dennis Schröder and instead consider starting either Malik Beasley or Austin Reaves so Schröder can take over Westbrook’s role as 6th man and point guard for second unit.

Lakers’ Backup Rotation

If the Lakers start Dennis Schröder, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis, their backup rotation would be Austin Reaves, Malik Beasley, Troy Brown Jr, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Mo Bamba.

Basketball is not hockey where coaches sub out an entire lineup. In other words, Lakers fans should never expect to see Reaves, Beasley, Brown Jr, Vanderbilt, and Bamba on the court together, except under Darvin Ham.
For some reason, Darvin Ham is not a strong believer in staggering his two superstars and two point guards to make sure the Lakers have always have a superstar and point guard on the court for all 48 minutes of the game.

The Blazers game was a perfect example of what happens when a coach doesn’t set some simple rules for rotations such as always have a superstar, point guard, rim protector, and three shooters in the lineup at all times. With 3:20 left in the first quarter, Ham went with a lineup without Davis, Russell, and Schröder just as Dame re-entered the game. The result was the Blazers immediately turned a 3-point edge into a 15-point halftime lead.

Schröder and Ham have a long-time relationship and talked about the former playing point guard for the latter if were ever on the same team. That doesn’t mean Dennis should start, especially if not best for the team.
There’s been speculation in the media that Pelinka may have promised Schröder a starting point guard job to get him to sign like he did with Drummond last season. If so, time has come to break that promise.

If Darvin Ham insists on continuing to start Dennis Schröder at point guard, the Lakers’ starting lineup and rotations will struggle and their chances of winning enough games to make the playoffs will disappear

Do Starting Lineups and Rotations Matter?

Whenever fans complain about their coach’s starting lineups and rotations, there’s always clapback that who starts doesn’t matter or who closes is more important. The truth is lineup building is as much art as science

First and most important, lineup building is about optimizing the potential synergy five players could have on the court together while making sure each lineup iteration was comprised off the critical mandatory elements.
For the Lakers, that means building 5-player lineups with one superstar, one point guard, one rim protector, and three 3-point shooters. It also means knowing that at least a fourth of the game will depend on subs.

It’s obvious head coach Darvin Ham’s inexplicable preference for starting Dennis Schröder this season is an eerie doppelganger of Frank Vogel’s equally inexplicable preference for starting Avery Bradley last season.
At some point, Ham has to realize that his trust and loyalty to Schröder cannot result in not putting the best possible team on the court to win. Otherwise, he’s likely to end up at the end of the year just like Vogel.

The All-Star break could not have come at a better time for the Lakers than right now as Darvin Ham desperately needs time and guidance on who to start and what rotations to make when the team makes its stretch run.
Hopefully, Rob Pelinka and other members of the front office will work with Ham over the break to get him to understand that starting Schröder at point guard is not the best strategy to build a championship rotation.

Starting Schröder could cause the Lakers to miss the playoffs and Ham to lose his job. Darvin and the Lakers need to make sure to get their starting lineup and rotation strategy right to make a run after the All-Star Break.

6 Reasons Why Thomas Bryant Must Start at Center Next to Anthony Davis

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The Los Angeles Lakers have a good problem to deal with once Anthony Davis returns from injury, which is what should they then do with young backup center Thomas Bryant, who’s been nothing short of sensational?

Since Anthony Davis was injured on December 18th, Thomas Bryant has averaged 27.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.4 blocks in 29.3 minutes per game starting at center while the Lakers finished 8–6.
Thomas did this shooting 65.8% from the field, 52.4% from beyond the arc, and 75.0% from the line. Along with Schröder and Westbrook, Thomas Bryant’s breakout performance has basically saved the Lakers’ season.

Once AD returns, Darvin Ham must decide whether to continue starting Thomas Bryant at center or make him the team’s backup? Considering how great Anthony Davis was playing at center, that will not be an easy decision.
In the end, positionless basketball should win out. The Lakers know their formula to win is Davis playing low post center on offense and paint shot blocker on defense, which he can do as starting center or power forward.

While the Lakers could revert to Anthony Davis starting at center in the playoffs, here are 6 reasons why Thomas Bryant should start at center and Anthony Davis at power forward once he returns for the regular season.

1. Starting Bryant Gives Lakers Positional Size Advantage

One major advantage of starting Thomas Bryant at center with Davis and James sliding to the four and three is it gives the Lakers positional size advantage at the small forward, power forward, and center positions.

While the Lakers desperately need more size at the small forward position, finding even a quality 3&D wing to backup LeBron James has been a challenge and landing a starting quality small forward is near impossible.
But starting Thomas Bryant at center and pushing Anthony Davis to the four and LeBron James to the three is the other way the Lakers can solve their size issues. We may also see Davis defending threes and James fours.

A Lakers’ front court of James, Davis, and Bryant at 6′ 9″, 6′ 10, and 6′ 10″ would be one of the biggest and most physical front courts in the league and would be matchup nightmares for many of the teams in the NBA.
Barring a trade at the deadline for an elite 3&D wing like O.G. Anunoby, keeping Bryant as the starting center is likely the easiest way for the Lakers to add desperately needed size and shooting to their starting lineup.

Positional size advantage is critical for Lakers. The only way they can win with this roster is by offsetting the points they lose in the 3-point shooting battle by winning the free throw and points-in-the-paint differentials.

2. Starting Bryant Could Help Keep Davis Injury Free

The Los Angeles Lakers would be foolish not to realize at this point that Anthony Davis is injury prone and take necessary steps in constructing a roster and establishing rotations to keep AD healthy and on the court.

One obvious strategic move would be to start a bruising physical center like Thomas Bryant next to Anthony Davis to limit the banging and physicality he has to endure against bigger centers like Jokic, Embiid, and Sabonis.
While it’s hard to specifically link Davis’ injury history with his playing center or power forward, it just makes sense for the Lakers to pair AD with a stretch five like Bryant who can share some of the low post physicality.

One of the traits the Lakers love about Thomas Bryant is his engine and motor. He’s exactly the kind of court mate that Anthony Davis needs to take on the more physical aspects of playing the center position in today’s NBA.
NBA teams have learned that being physical with Anthony Davis is the best way to limit or stop him. Providing him with an aggressive physical front court mate like Thomas Bryant should help keep AD fit and healthy.

Building a roster to support an injury prone Anthony Davis is a better path than giving up and trading a transcendental MVP and DPOY caliber player. Lakers should start Thomas Bryant so help keep Anthony Davis healthy.

3. Starting Bryant Opens Backup Center for Rim Protector

As terrific as Bryant has been offensively, his lack of footspeed and lateral quickness severely limits his impact defensively. Starting him alongside an elite three-level defender like Anthony Davis covers his defensive liabilities.

Starting Bryant at center also opens minutes for a backup center who can protect the rim when AD’s not in the game. Next to a big wing defender, L.A.’s greatest defensive need is a backup center who can protect the rim.
Now is also the perfect time for the Lakers to find a better third center than Damian Jones as there’s a good chance Thomas Bryant will have played himself out of the Lakers price range and they’ll lost him to free agency.

Thus, finding a backup center who can stretch the floor and attack the rim offensively like Thomas Bryant but also block shots and provide defensive rim protection when AD rests is a critical need the Lakers need to fill.
The best possible candidate could be the Orlando Magic’s Mo Bamba, a 24-year old, 7′ 1″, 231 lb center who‘s averaging 7.7 points, shooting 37.0% on 2.8 3PA’s per game and blocking 1.1 shots in just 18.0 minutes per game.

Starting Thomas Bryant at center opens up an opportunity for the Lakers to pursue a defensive oriented backup center who can provide greatly needed rim protection for the team whenever Anthony Davis is on the bench.

4. Starting Bryant Improves Spacing for James and Davis

The biggest challenge the Laker front office faces right now is surrounding superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis with shooting. Starting 6′ 10″ sharpshooting Thomas Bryant at center could help the Laker spacing.

Right now, Bryant leads the Lakers in 3-point shooting percentage, hitting 45.2%. While Thomas does most of his scoring damage at the rim while AD was out, he has the gunner attitude to become a high volume stretch five.
Assuming the Lakers want AD to continue to dominate in the post when in the game, it’s logical to expect the them to want to turn Bryant into a high-volume stretch five similar to the Bucks’ starting center Brook Lopez.

The Lakers have struggled all season to come up with lineups to surround James and Davis with role players who can shoot and are big enough to defend their positions. Bryant is the cure for those three guard lineups.
Starting Bryant leaves Darvin Ham with only starting point guard and shooting guard to decide. From the current roster, the best options would be Dennis Schröder (38.5% 3P%) and Austin Reaves (36.0% 3P%).

Starting Thomas Bryant at center is a key first step towards finally surrounding LeBron James and Anthony Davis with volume 3-point shooting to give them the spacing needed to attack the paint and rim.

5. Starting Bryant Enables Davis To Play Preferred Position

Anthony Davis has never wavered in his preference to play power forward rather than center. But he’s also always said he would do ‘whatever it takes’ and proved that by playing the five in the 2020 championship in the bubble.

Frankly, the Lakers prefer the version of Anthony Davis they saw right before he injured his foot in December, an MVP and DPOY caliber player replacing long twos and threes shot selection with easier dunks and layups.
Davis and the Lakers need to remember the game is becoming positionless. There’s no reason Davis can’t continue to take and make the exact same kinds of shots he did before when starting at center as power forward.

All Anthony Davis wants is space to do his thing. If that means starting lower in the paint, so be it. If it means attacking the rim to get a dunk or get to the line, so be it. Anthony Davis totally understands ‘whatever it takes.’
It will be Thomas Bryant’s whose game will change once Anthony Davis returns and becomes the primary option. While he’ll get his touches in the paint, Thomas’ primary goal as a starter will be to create spacing for AD.

While Anthony Davis will get to return to his preferred starting power forward position if Thomas Bryant starts at center, the Lakers will focus their offense on getting the ball to Anthony Davis close to the rim.

6. Starting Bryant Allows Ham to Play Offense Like Bucks

Head coach Darvin Ham’s original plan was to have the Lakers run the two-bigs offense he used in Milwaukee with Antetokounmpo and Lopez having Bryant or Jones playing center and Anthony Davis playing power forward.

Injuries to Bryant and a poor start by Jones caused Ham to throw out the two-bigs plan and revert to Anthony Davis at the five, which turned out to be the move that unleased a new version of him better than bubble AD.
Then came the unfortunate foot injury in December, which opened the door for a finally healthy Thomas Bryant to throw his cap in the ring as a legitimate difference maker since he helped resurrect the Lakers’ season.

Bryant has basically played so well that Ham and the Lakers are already leaning towards continuing to start Thomas once Anthony Davis returns, which gives Ham the opportunity to run a version of the Buck’s two-bigs.
For the Lakers, returning to two-bigs for at least the rest of the regular season makes sense. In fact, playing two bigs during the regular season was a major favtor in the Lakers 2020 championship run in the bubble.

Darwin Ham has been ‘hamstrung’ all season by a poorly constructed roster from the Lakers’ front office but everything now suddenly seems to be falling in place for Los Angeles. Kuddos to Coach Darvin Ham!