The Lakers have two major changes to their starting lineup after 30 games this season.
Before the match against OKC Thunder on December 24, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that D’Angelo Russell will start the match on the bench after 28 main matches this season.
At the beginning of the season, the Lakers also made headlines when they let Austin Reaves return to the reserve team.
Before that, he had a big problem when he lost 4 matches in a row.
The change of pushing Russell to the bench worked when the Lakers played very well and defeated the OKC Thunder.
More importantly, that victory opened up a new direction for tactical development for the Lakers this season.
The Lakers used the following starting lineup in their match against the OKC Thunder:
LeBron James, Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince, Jarred Vanderbilt, Anthony Davis
Prince, who is 1m98 tall, is the shortest player in the Lakers’ starting lineup. Putting Russell on the bench also established a decisive style of play, in which James was the main ball carrier and regulated all offensive situations.
The results were encouraging – not just because the Lakers won, but also because of the way they beat the Thunder.
LeBron James returns to the position of ball defender
During his 21 seasons in the NBA, James has always been a passer with superior vision. He is a true Point-Forward, a ball-dribbling defender with a height of 2m06.
During the 2019/20 season, James completely switched to the position of ball defender for the Lakers. As a result that season, James averaged a career-high 10.2 assists per game and led the Lakers to the NBA championship at the end of the year.
However, after that year’s championship, the Lakers changed. They brought Russell Westbrook back from the Washington Wizards and let him take on the point guard position. Meanwhile, James returned to his preferred position as a striker and has played like that until now.
And when he returned to the position of point guard against the Thunder, James had one of his best performances of the season. That classy performance helped the Lakers break their losing streak and defeat their opponents.
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