One of many expectations Lakers fans had for their team was excellence from Darvin Ham overseeing the new roster. Fast forward four games in, and the second-year head coach has produced mixed results. From properly utilizing LeBron James and Anthony Davis to making questionable decisions that cost them games, the Lakers’ rotation has some positive traits and areas of improvement early on in the season. It’s worth examining both sides of the coin before the Lakers battle the Clippers in a downtown showdown Wednesday night.
Analyzing the Lakers Rotation Through Four Games
What Ham Must Continue
Managing LeBron’s Minutes
Since James’s “minutes restriction” from game one, LeBron’s workload has increased periodically, with James playing 39 minutes in Sacramento (including overtime) and 33 against the Orlando Magic Monday night. In that span, he averaged 23 points, nine rebounds, and six assists per game on .575/.333/.810 splits. The Lakers have rarely found success without James on the floor, going 44-67 without him since 2018. That could very well change this season, but it will still take time and plenty of growing pains before it happens.
In the meantime, Ham and the rest of LA’s staff should remain cautious about James’s minutes, taking him out of the game when needed but not in clutch time situations. Ham appears to have learned his lesson since then, but fans can only hope history doesn’t repeat itself.
Two-Big Lineups with Anthony Davis and Christian Wood
We knew this would be a possibility with Davis next to Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood, but we didn’t know how great it would look early on. Bringing someone of Davis’s caliber next to Christian Wood has brought great results so far. Though it’s a small sample size, the duo has tallied 52 minutes together for a net rating of 29.8 (113.1 offensive, 89.3 defensive).
Anthony Davis and Christian Wood playing big-to-big basketball 🙌
(via @MoDakhil_NBA)pic.twitter.com/QcZYmVv7tF
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 27, 2023
Wood discussed how he and Davis have complemented each other early on:
Christian Wood on playing defense with Anthony Davis:
"He's gonna always go for the block, so I gotta be that [secondary guy]."
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) October 31, 2023
Darvin Ham touched on how effective Wood has been next to Davis, especially defensively, where Wood wants to improve:
“That’s one of the things he and I talked about when we signed him. He initiated the process of telling me, ‘I wanna be great on that side of the ball.’ He can rebound — six tough rebounds in that [fourth] quarter — he definitely can score, but it’s the defensive thing that’s gonna take his game to a whole different level.”
While the team has yet to roll out a Davis-Hayes combo in the regular season, they seem to have found a great combination between Wood and Davis. The Lakers are slowly bringing back the two-big lineups that brought them success in 2020, but it’s too early to tell if that will contribute to the same result.
Closing Lineups
Finally, the Lakers have found themselves in four close contests, and they appear to have found a combination that works for them, which includes the aforementioned two bigs playing together. Ham touched on the use of big lineups after the team’s win against Orlando on Monday, citing the necessary defensive rebounding that Davis, James, and Wood bring to the table:
“Whenever (Wood is) in there with A, Bron, especially A specifically, they’re just two huge presences on the defensive glass. Christian gets some of the toughest defensive rebounds I’ve ever seen anyone get. So, he and A being combined for, I think it was 25 defensive rebounds, we needed every one of them.”
The full closing lineup consisted of James, Wood, Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince—an ideal mix of size and shooting. This group was only together for four minutes in Monday’s game, but they put up 12 points, two rebounds and three assists in that span. They held Orlando to 4/7 shooting from the field (57%) and 0/2 from three. Russell buried a clutch three to give the Lakers a 104-103 lead with 1:42 left. And though Prince didn’t score in the final few minutes, he made his presence known, whether it was roaming the perimeter or crashing the glass.
What Needs to Change
More Max Christie and Rui Hachimura
Two of the Lakers’ young bucks—Max Christie and Rui Hachimura—have received limited opportunities in the first few games, leading fans to wonder why they’re not being used effectively by Ham. Christie has yet to see meaningful minutes, while Hachimura has averaged eight points and three rebounds per game in 14 minutes per night. Rui was originally thought of as LA’s sixth man, but those duties may very well be going towards Wood or Vincent. Christie, who impressed many in Summer League, has only played one minute and 15 seconds this season, producing goose eggs against Denver. This video of Christie, Wood, and GM Rob Pelinka has also raised some eyebrows:
Rob Pelinka congratulates Christian Wood after the #Lakers win. pic.twitter.com/hgjiAng3xB
— Lauren Jones (@LoJoMedia) October 31, 2023
Fans shouldn’t be too concerned about the lack of opportunities for Hachimura and Christie, but they’re right to be advocating for them to receive more minutes. It’s clear that both players can impact winning at a high level. It all comes down to how Ham could adjust his lineups to make that happen.
What’s Wrong with Austin Reaves?
From sophomore standout to an early slump, something is off about Austin Reaves to begin his third season. Reaves has started all four of LA’s contests, but has averaged 10 points per game on 33% shooting from the field and 25% from deep. He went 1/12 from the field on Sunday and 5/12 on Monday. He’s also been benched in crunch time both games, situations where he was thriving last year.
One explanation for Reaves’s poor play is simply that the summer has caught up to him. Though his offseason was one of tremendous growth, it also came with non-stop hoops—from Summer League in July to FIBA World Cup in August and September, and then training camp in October. Ham mentioned previously that Reaves’s workload would be monitored in training camp, but it looks like that has rolled over into regular season play. Again, it’s four games, so there’s no doubt Reaves will be back to his electric play as the weeks go on. For now, however, Ham may want to explore the idea of taking Reaves out of the starting lineup until he gets his energy back.
The Last Word on the Lakers Rotation
D’Angelo Russell discussed the Lakers’ recent performances after their win on Monday, noting that they’re trusting their own process:
“I’ll continue to stress it but what you guys see is a team figuring it out. This isn’t the product we’ll be in a month or two from now. Every game matters. Every crunch situation matters. Every practice matters. So, we’re figuring it out.”
Darvin Ham also expressed the need to “dig deeper” into the rotation after the loss to Sacramento, and what he looks for in key contributors:
“Just guys who are competing hard. I think they’re all trying. Guys who are competing and making plays. I don’t want my team to be one of the teams that tries to play mistake-free—I love competitive mistakes…If you’re defending, if you’re competing at a high level, if you’re sharing and sacrificing on the offensive end—allowing us to get the type of looks that we’re looking for—then sure enough, you’ll be out there on the floor.”
As the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” The Lakers are still figuring things out early on in the season, but fans will soon see a championship-level product on the floor soon.
