In achieving their 112-105 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Lakers reached the midway point of the season, and in their 41st game, Coach Darvin Ham reverted to the initial lineup deployed at the season’s onset.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis were flanked by Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Taurean Prince to commence the match against Oklahoma City. This marked the deployment of the 11th distinct starting configuration that Ham has orchestrated this season, one he intends to persist with.
“Just wanted to put as much skill and shot-making on the floor around our two captains,” Ham elucidated post-game. “And those five, they’ve been pretty much our most consistent guys throughout the season thus far. So just put them together.
“For the foreseeable future, that’s going to be our lineup, barring any type of injury.”
The victory elevated the Lakers to a 20-21 record for the season, with a 3-3 performance with the reinstated starting group. In the previous month, amidst a post in-season tournament slump, Ham reshuffled the lineup to prioritize defense, pairing James and Davis with Prince, Cam Reddish, and Jarred Vanderbilt in their previous game against the Thunder—a 129-120 triumph on Dec. 23.
The shift on Monday, partly prompted by Reddish’s sore left knee potentially sidelining him for several more games according to sources, swung the pendulum back to a focus on offense.
“I think we can score,” remarked Davis about the five-man unit. “I think for us it’s just on the defensive end. Are we able to play defense how we did tonight? … I think the defense is what’s going to separate us and get us more wins.”
L.A. restricted the Thunder (27-12) to 41.7% shooting from the field and 30.6% from 3, amassing 7 steals and 9 blocks as a cohesive unit.
However, one aspect that posed a challenge for the Lakers was rebounding: OKC secured 13 offensive rebounds, outscoring L.A. 21-9 in second-chance points.
James, contributing 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, emphasized the need for this lineup to collectively rebound, alleviating the burden on Davis, who notched 27 points and 15 rebounds.
“Offensively we want to share the ball, not turn the ball over, AD’s always our focus offensively, getting him going early and often,” stated James. “And then defensively, we have to be on a string to help one another. And we have to help AD rebound. And when we do that, you know, we can be a pretty good five-man lineup.”
The actual performance of this lineup will play a pivotal role in determining the franchise’s direction as the Feb. 8 trade deadline approaches.
“People talk about trades and this and that. No one’s sugarcoating anything. You have an opportunity to get better, you’re going take advantage of it,” asserted Ham. “But that said, what we have in that locker room, we just need to buckle down, focus, take care of the details. We have more than enough in that locker room to make some things happen.”