Lakers News: LA Considering Benching Longtime Starter In WCF Game 2

Are more rotation changes forthcoming for Los Angeles?

After your Los Angeles Lakers' three-guard starting lineup proved underwhelming to kick off the team's eventual 132-126 Game 1 loss in its Western Conference Finals series against the Denver Nuggets, it appears everything could be on the table for head coach Darvin Ham.

Now, Ham is reportedly pondering making a drastic lineup adjustment ahead of Game 2 on Thursday.

Across just 26:08 (he was benched down the game's home stretch), Russell scored eight points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field (0-for-3 from long range) and dished out three assists, posting a game-worst -25 plus-minus in the process.

Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Ham may move pricey starting point guard D'Angelo Russell to the bench after his miserable Game 1 performance. Several sources informed McMenamin that LA is worried D-Lo could disengage from the team if he's demoted in such a way, having started all 14 of LA's postseason contests thus far (including the team's play-in victory against Russell's previous team, the Minnesota Timberwolves).

Dennis Schröder had been recently elevated to a starting role alongside Russell and shooting guard-turned-small forward Austin Reaves, and while that approach worked wonders in LA's closeout Game 6 victory against the Golden State Warriors during the last round of the playoffs, it fell flat versus the very tall Denver Nuggets.

Schröder is a better defender than Russell but poorer three-point shooter, though he's a competent scorer who seems to have a knack for stepping up in big moments. Both are solid passers. It became clear in Game 1 that prioritizing a taller front line for LA would make sense against Denver Nuggets, meaning Ham should probably bring Jarred Vanderbilt back into the starting lineup or promote Rui Hachimura, who defended All-Star Denver center Nikola Jokic well during the final half of Game 1's fourth frame. One wonders if Ham prefers Schröder's overall steadier hand to Russell's more inconsistent performances in his first five.

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