With the Los Angeles Lakers in great need of a win, head coach Darvin Ham made a bold move before Saturday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He moved guard D’Angelo Russell to the bench and promoted forward Jarred Vanderbilt to the starting lineup.
It seemed the move worked, as the Lakers defeated the Thunder, 129-120. Oklahoma City came into the contest with the Western Conference’s second-best record. Even better, Russell had his first good game in a while by going 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point range to score 15 points in just 17 minutes.
Some players might have pouted if put in Russell’s situation. But after the game, he seemed to convey the right attitude (h/t Lakers Nation).
“Just finding a way to impact winning and being energy whenever I get out on the floor.” D’Angelo Russell speaks on his move to the bench and how he can impact the game. pic.twitter.com/iphVypkd1P
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 24, 2023
“Obviously (we) switched the lineup, the result was a win, so for me, that’s all that matters. Just finding a way to impact winning and bring energy whenever I get on the floor. Starting is a different monster. You’re playing against starting units, you’re playing against the scouting report, you’re playing against a lot of things like that. When you come in (as a reserve) you got to jump back on where the starters left off at as far as matchups and things like that so figuring out ways to still gain some type of advantage coming in at a later time.”
One has to expect Ham to stick with this new starting lineup for at least the time being, especially because of the length, foot speed and defensive versatility it gives the team.