After dropping the Christmas Day contest at home to hated rival Boston, the Los Angeles Lakers (as of Dec. 27) currently with with a 16-15 record. This puts the team at No. 9 in the Western Conference — only a game ahead of Phoenix. If the playoffs ended today, the Lakers would be forced to participate in the play-in tournament.
While winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament seemed like a step in the right direction, things have fallen off rather quickly over the last couple of weeks.
Buha is very much dialed into the situation. He opined on several topics, speculating that the constantly changing starting lineup might not be the best thing for continuity or team chemistry.
The most damning comment towards head coach Darvin Ham came when Buha weighed in thusly:
There’s been heavy frustration from the fan base surrounding the play of D’Angelo Russell. With rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino clearly not ready for action, the hope was veteran Gabe Vincent would supply the Lakers with a consistent, defensive-minded knockdown shooter from the bench.
Missing virtually the entire year thus far, it was recently announced that Vincent may be out for up to two months as he undergoes knee surgery.
Instead of starting Russell or Austin Reaves, the Lakers have gone jumbo with its starting group — playing LeBron at the point guard spot alongside a wing group featuring Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince, and Jarred Vanderbilt. Davis then assumes the role of the center.
Vanderbilt is a springy defender with nice versatility. However, he’s averaging 1.5 PPG on the year. This includes shooting 28.0 percent from the field and 0.0 percent from three. Reddish is the same type of player. Another defensive specialist, he’s shooting below 40 percent from the field on the year (and 30 percent from three).
