The Los Angeles Lakers rolled out a brand-new starting lineup last night in their Christmas Day loss to the Boston Celtics. The lineup was an extremely experimental one that focused on defense. LeBron James started at point guard, with Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Anthony Davis filling out the starting five.
This lineup was a disaster for the Lakers, as they fell to an early double-digit deficit with this group. It was extremely clunky and had no offensive creation, even with a playmaker like James. It didn’t work defensively either, as the eight minutes they spent together on the court would trend towards this being the worst starting lineup in the entire NBA.
The five had an offensive rating of 94.7 and a defensive rating of 150.0. For a defense-focused lineup, this failed to get the job done as it struggled to contain any of the Celtics. A net rating of -55.3 would comfortably put them as the worst starting lineup in the NBA.
The Lakers’ most-used five with D’Angelo Russell, LeBron, Davis, Prince, and Reddish, has a net rating of 1.2 for the season. Even with Russell’s struggles, relegating a dynamic ball-handler like him to the bench is useless, especially with Austin Reaves already in the sixth-man role. It’s clear something needs to change.
Which Starting Lineup Lakers Should Use?
After watching how their starting five played against the Celtics, I can safely say the Lakers should stay away from it. Having two non-scoring threats like Vanderbilt and Reddish along with a limited offensive player like Taurean Prince, was an odd decision by Darvin Ham. He pivoted away from playing these five together during the game itself, and it’s fair to say we won’t see this run again anytime soon.
If that is the case, what lineups should the Lakers resort to going forward, given the 2-6 run the team has been on over the last two weeks?
Starting Lineup 1: Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince, LeBron James, Jarred Vanderbilt, Anthony Davis
LeBron can be a high-level playmaker, but at his age, expecting him to be the primary ball-handler while playmaking and scoring is unsustainable. James likely excels in a playmaking role at this point, which means he can still be utilized for that skill as long as he has a secondary playmaker next to him who can also be the primary ball-handler. Austin Reaves has earned the spot with his solid play over the December.
Reaves is averaging 18.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists this season. He has excelled as a sixth man, so it may be time to bring him back to the starting lineup while continuing to run him in staggered minutes with D’Angelo Russell, ensuring both players can get run with the starters as well as the second unit. Taurean Prince has been a connector and earned his spot as a starter on the Lakers. He isn’t a high-utility player but provides a reasonable 3-and-D skill set that has helped the Lakers in successful stretches throughout the season as well.
Vanderbilt is their best POA defender and forms a ruthless frontcourt defense with Davis. The offense will struggle with Vando, but the Lakers have options to bring off the bench to light a spark when they need to behind this defensive duo that served them well last season and in the playoffs.
Starting Lineup 2: LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince, Rui Hachimura, Anthony Davis
Keeping the same idea from the previous lineup, one tweak makes it a more offense-oriented lineup. Anthony Davis has been defending at a DPOY level for large swathes of the season, which has helped the Lakers earn a reputation as a formidable defensive team. His impact is the biggest difference-maker, so instead of having a non-scorer like Vanderbilt put the Lakers in a position to play 4-on-5 offense, the Lakers can finally start Rui Hachimura to add a complementary frontcourt player next to Davis.
Hachimura’s high motor and ability to shoot has helped the Lakers when he’s hitting. None of the role-players are consistent enough to demand a spot as a starter, but Hachimura can serve that role well. He’s averaging 13.0 points and 4.4 rebounds over the last eight games. Even if this doesn’t move the needle heavily, it gives James a frontcourt option he can reliably pass the ball, unlike Vanderbilt.
D’Angelo Russell can continue marshaling the sixth-man role, with Reaves retaining his spot as a starter due to his invaluable contributions to the Lakers’ offense. Anyway, we know that Darvin Ham will tinker with his lineups to try and find the best formula. These suggested lineups are at least a solid starting point, in my opinion.
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