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[Saba Sports News] Starting with their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Lakers are set to use a starting lineup featuring D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis, as per coach Darvin Ham’s announcement.
Ham discussed this change in the context of Cam Reddish’s injury. Reddish, who started 26 of 33 games, is currently sidelined with a left knee effusion and awaiting further evaluation. The team’s decision comes amid various lineup changes throughout a fluctuating season, with Ham seeking the right combination for better team performance.
Reaves, after a period of adjustment early in the season, returned to the bench for about a month and a half. Russell, who had been coming off the bench for seven games, was recently reinserted into the starting lineup in the Lakers’ recent loss to the Utah Jazz. Both Russell and Reaves originally formed the opening night backcourt, with Russell recently scoring a season-high 39 points against the Jazz.
Reaves praised Russell’s unique skills, expressing it’s an honor to play alongside him. Ham aims to achieve “cohesiveness” and “continuity” with this new lineup configuration.
So far, the combination of Russell, Reaves, Prince, LeBron, and Davis has a 2-3 record when starting together. This contrasts with the Thunder’s starting lineup success. The Lakers’ lineup has been their second most common five-man group, showing a 1.0 net rating over 131 minutes, against the team’s overall -1.8 rating.
Coming into the matchup against the Thunder, the Lakers had lost six of their last eight games and were outside the play-in zone with a 19-21 record.