Because the Lakers are fairly set heading into the 2023-24 season – the primary members of the rotation are more or less set, there are no big controversies, no huge position battles – fans are intensely curious about the one big thing that isn’t yet settled:
Who’s gonna start at small forward?
Darvin Ham, not surprisingly, hasn’t yet committed to answering that question – they haven’t even had three practices or played a preseason game – but different players are getting a chance to audition for that spot. Jarred Vanderbilt, Taurean Prince and Rui Hachimura will all get reps with the named starters (Russell, Reaves, James, Davis). Ham’s decision will probably be less about who “wins”, and rather which player makes the most sense with that group, and how the choice impacts the rest of the rotation. Which combinations in the second unit would make the most sense? Well, you can’t always put those together as easily if one of those dudes is a starter.
The good news? Nobody in that crew is going to complain if they’re not in the opening five. Hachimura has already made it clear he’s much more concerned about finishing games than starting them.
Other things to watch: Anthony Davis.
His jumper has been receiving a fair amount of attention, with Reaves praising it on one of the many, many podcasts on which he’s appeared. The perception is that Davis’s outside game has fallen off over the last couple of seasons… but is that really the case? 3-point shooting, for sure, but is that the only thing that matters? Does it really matter anymore if Davis stretches a defense all the way past the arc? It seems like he’s a lot less interested in that part of his game, based on shot attempts over the last few seasons.
Finally, Denver head coach Michael Malone said Wednesday that he’s not paying attention to the Lakers, and hasn’t heard what players have been saying about having a little extra interest and motivation to play his Nuggets following all the post-playoffs chatter this summer. From Denver. Mostly from Malone.
He was very complimentary towards the Lakers… but is he really being serious?
Just another reminder, whether talking about the Lakers or other teams, never ever expect the things they say to motivate their team, frame the challenge or anything similar to actually reflect reality. That’s not how this works.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: Who is going to start at small forward?
SEGMENT 2: What are the tradeoffs Ham is balancing?
SEGMENT 3: AD’s jumper and Mike Malone’s amnesia.
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21 Comments
Hachi
My eye sees Vando as a better fit.
If Prince makes it to the starting 5 that would mean our entire wing squad is injured. Look last year we had so many starting 5 out of pure desperation. Rui lost weight to defend small guards so I see Prince as Brons and Vandos sub. He needs to play at SF a bit better but he craves the physical nature of PF. Prince gives up 3 inches so for me he is good role player who is very competitive and could be a X factor but always off the bench
Rui… Rui… or Rui. Unless you plan to MATCH Vando's mins with the opposing teams best player (aka play him 40mins +), otherwise allow a fresh Vando to terrorize this player from off the bench. Let Rui establish rhythm & give spacing for the starters. 💛💜🏆💜💛
PS – get LBJ out EARLY so Vando can start pressuring his match-up, and Bron can run with the reserves (shooters)… Prince/Wood/Max/Vincent + LBJ for stretches is key. Cle did this and it flat out works.
My best friend calls Darvin Ham The Hamburglar. "There goes the Hamburglar talking about 3 guard lineups" oh also. KOBE!!!!
Rui should start.
What is malones' problem ? is he still making out with joker's horses?😣
The fit should be the moving factor in determining who should start at the last spot in the starting line up.
At least in the 2020 season, AD made the 3’s that mattered
Prince would make sense. Very good 3 and d guy and Ham knows him from Atlanta so he might get the Dennis treatment lol
Omg man the intro to this channel is such a banger
Why are you guys placing so much emphasis about who Ham settles on as starters at the beginning of the season? We had 39 different starting lineups last season.
Thanks guys👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽💜💛💜💛💜💯 You Bros are the Best🙏🏼
My Starters – D'Lo/AR/Vando/LBJ/AD
* Vando has the ability to guard the opposing team's best SG or SF.
* Our 2nd Group (Vince/MaxC/Prince/Rui/Wood) is So Good that They could and all have been Starters in the NBA with the exception of MaxC.
love the show guys. the end about Denver and Malone was hilarious 😂
Would be interesting to see a Vincent, Vando, Prince, Rui, AD lineup
WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE….THE TOP 3 GUARDS_____DLO REAVES FINO
Prince is the perfect fit. Good shooting, decent defense. Vando alongside AD is painful offensively.
For the lakers to be successful Davis has to shoot well enough from 3 that we can play a traditional center alongside him, or we need an extremely rare Brook Lopez type Center. Real Centers will always bully AD.
For the lakers to be successful Davis has to shoot well enough from 3 that we can play a traditional center alongside him, or we need an extremely rare Brook Lopez type Center. Real Centers will always bully AD.
One crazy stat about AD: He led the league last season in 30pt/15rb games and 35pt/15rb games 👌🏾