Lakers Debut New Small-Ball Starting Lineup For 1st Preseason Game

Is this a taste of things to come?

Just two games into your Los Angeles Lakers' 2023 preseason, head coach Darvin Ham has already exhibited an intriguing willingness to tinker with his lineups and rotations.

In an eventual 125-108 loss to the Golden State Warriors, Ham had to get creative without starting wings LeBron James or Austin Reaves available, opting to trot out an undersized backcourt with guards D'Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent both starting, but compensating with 6'8" power forward Rui Hachimura at small forward, 6'9" power forward Jarred Vanderbilt at the four, and 6'10" Anthony Davis at center.

On Monday, James and Reaves returned, but Vanderbilt (and Cam Reddish) sat. Ham pivoted, returning James and Reaves to his starting lineup, and demoting Vincent and Hachimura to the bench. He promoted new signing Taurean Prince to a starting forward role in his second preseason contest with the franchise next to James.

Prince makes a ton of sense alongside James, as he can defend the tougher forward on any opposing team (allowing James to hide on the easier cover) and drain threes consistently (Hachimura had an awesome three-point shooting run during the playoffs, nailing 48.7% of his 2.4 triple attempts a night, but has been inconsistent overall across his career).

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