Lakers News: Darvin Ham Opts For Bizarre Starting Five Vs Utah

The Lakers are missing a position in this lineup.

Ahead of tonight's contest with the Utah Jazz, your Los Angeles Lakers will be without LeBron James, who is nursing an ankle injury. 

As a result, Darvin Ham must decide on a new starting lineup, but he's reached a confusing decision:

Small starting lineup for LAL:

Russell, Reaves, Prince, Reddish and Davis

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) January 14, 2024

LA will be without a power forward tonight, as outside of James, Rui Hachimura, and Jarred Vanderbilt are the two on the roster that could potentially slide into that spot.

Vanderbilt's offensive deficiencies make him a poor starting choice, but Hachimura, who is set to return after missing a few games due to a calf injury, would add more offensive value than Cam Reddish/Taurean Prince, who are drawing the start tonight. 

Defensively, this lineup is at an advantage, but the Jazz are a big team, with 7-footer Lauri Markkanen being their primary scorer and excelling at all 3 levels. Given his several-inch height advantage over Prince/Reddish, there's little to be confident in surrounding LA's plan to defend him out on the perimeter, as he shoots nearly 40% from 3-point range. 

We haven't seen D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves start together in quite a while, as Reaves' benching followed by Russell's benching have allowed one or the other to run the second unit. With them both starting today, however, LA is likely to have some defensive issues in the backcourt, especially as it pertains to guarding Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson, two explosive guards.