SAN FRANCISCO — With one minute and 55 seconds left in the first half Golden State Warriors Saturday night, LeBron James checked into the game during the stoppage in play for Jarred Vanderbilt’s free-throw attempts.
D’Angelo Russell, believing the substitution was for him, walked to the Lakers’ bench and sat next to the coaching staff. After Vanderbilt’s first free throw, the coaching staff quickly addressed the mistake, swapping Russell back in for Taurean Prince.
For the second consecutive game, the Lakers’ primary starting lineup when healthy after last season’s trade deadline — Anthony Davis, James, Vanderbilt, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell — played the final two minutes of the first half, sparking a 12-4 run to give the Lakers a 68-63 lead at halftime.
They then briefly played together midway through the third quarter, leading to four unanswered points before Davis exited the game with hip spasms that temporarily left him unable to move on the hardwood for several minutes. The unit reassembled midway through the fourth, playing all but four seconds of the final 15:36, as the Lakers survived several haymakers from Stephen Curry, who scored a game-high 46 points and made several go-ahead buckets.
“They’ve been through a lot of wars once they came together at the deadline last year and the way we pushed through the rest of the season and the playoffs,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said. “But having that group, that five, the way they know each other, they understand each other’s rhythm, it’s a great luxury to have.”
What an end to #NBARivalsWeek 🍿
LeBron, Steph gave us one of the games of the YEAR tonight as the Lakers topped the Warriors in a double-overtime THRILLER! pic.twitter.com/BRS6Bb9Ykr
— NBA (@NBA) January 28, 2024
That hasn’t always been the case, though. Ham has been reluctant to not only start the group, but even play them during the middle portions of games. Since Vanderbilt’s season debut on Dec. 2, Reaves hasn’t missed a game, Davis and Vanderbilt have each missed one and James and Russell have each missed four. There have been plenty of chances to use the lineup. Yet prior to Saturday, it had only played 11 total minutes across five games all season.
Against the Warriors, in a game so tight it went to two overtimes, the Lakers rediscovered the magic of last season’s starting five. The Lakers certainly relied on the historic brilliance of James (36 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and 12 assists) to win the rematch of last season’s Western Conference semifinals series, but their old starting lineup made the difference. The unit outscored Golden State by 14 points the 19 minutes it played together — nearly double their previous plus-minus number.
Vanderbilt, in particular, was a plus-minus darling Saturday – the Lakers were a team-best plus-30 in his career-high 41 minutes. He had 14 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Vanderbilt was the team’s projected starting small forward early in training camp, but after he was forced to miss almost two months with a nagging heel injury, Prince replaced him as the starter, exceeded modest expectations and earned the trust of the coaching staff. Vanderbilt appeared physically limited until the past couple of weeks, when he’s begun to resemble the athletic and energetic defensive menace that helped the Lakers post the league’s second-best defense after the trade deadline last season.
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During the past six games, Vanderbilt is averaging 11.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.2 steals in 26.5 minutes per game. The Lakers have exploited the way teams defend Vanderbilt — or, in many cases, don’t defend him — by having him make timely cuts across the lane and relentlessly attack the offensive glass. Most impressively, he’s posting shooting splits of 61.5 percent from the field, 60.0 percent from 3 and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line while looking far more comfortable on that end of the floor.
“You can see the impact he’s having each and every game,” Ham said. “Doing all the dirty work, taking the toughest matchups. He got back healthy. But it was a matter of time before he had to get back into game shape. He’s there now. … We just love him to death. Just his work ethic, his blue-collarism, it’s unbelievable. And I’m happy that it’s back in full form.”
To be clear, the Russel-Reaves-Vanderbilt-James-Davis lineup isn’t perfect. Vanderbilt has largely been an offensive minus for most of his career and this season. Reaves and Russell are nearly unplayable together at times because of their collective defensive issues. There’s a lot of pressure on Davis and James to get downhill and play with force in this configuration. The unit was ultimately played off the floor in the beginning of the team’s 4-0 defeat to Denver in the Western Conference finals.
But for a Lakers team who often cites it lack of continuity and chemistry because of injuries, a lineup that has actually played and succeeded together seems like a reasonable solution, at least until the roster is officially settled at the trade deadline.
“We just have chemistry and we have a lot of minutes logged together, so we know what we want to do,” James said. “It’s a team that was in the Western Conference finals last year and made some plays in the second round and things of that nature so, with myself, AR, Vando, D-Lo and AD, we just, we know where everybody is at and we work well together.”
In contrast with Vanderbilt, Prince had one of his worst games of the season against Golden State. He went scoreless (0-for-2) in 24 minutes, adding three rebounds, one assist and one steal. The Lakers were a game-worst minus-22 in his time on the floor.
Prince has mostly been fine this season. He’s shooting 38.9 percent on 3s, with that percentage notably dipping in the corners (35.2 percent) and on wide-open attempts (36.3 percent). He’s been overtaxed handling the primary perimeter assignments that should go first to Vanderbilt, then to Cam Reddish or Max Christie depending on the matchup. He’s been more effective at shooting guard instead of small forward given his physical limitations and below-average rebounding for a wing.
For most good teams, Prince would be an 18-to-22-minute-per-game bench player who occasionally plays more if he’s having a hot shooting night. But Ham has treated him as a starting lock, even giving him more leeway than Reaves and Russell, the Lakers’ third- and fourth-best players in some order, at various points this season.
Vanderbilt is the more natural fit next to Reaves and Russell, covering them on the perimeter defensively and on the defensive glass. Prince’s shooting and gravity are both important traits for a Lakers offense that often struggles from beyond the arc, but Vanderbilt’s defense, energy and rebounding lately have been game-changers.
When asked if he’d consider starting Vanderbilt and returning to last season’s starting group, Ham evaded the question.
“Well, right now, I’ll consider me getting something to eat, a nice glass of wine and consider sleeping very soon here,” Ham said. “Getting a good night’s sleep. No lineup questions, please.”
Ham was asked a follow-up question about the success of the group and said he could see the lineup becoming a closing staple even if they won’t necessarily start games.
“It’s not about always starting that way, but you know you’re going to get to it,” Ham said. “Every coach has a finishing six or seven, group of six or seven guys that he knows he can potentially finish with. … But best believe, when it’s time to finish the game, the game is on the line, it’s a good five to have in your back pocket.”
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Davis, who said he’s “fine” after his hip spasms, was also asked if the lineup from last season should be playing more. He declined to answer, putting the onus on Ham.
“That’s on coach,” Davis said. “That’s on coach.”
After a rough month following winning the In-Season Tournament, the Lakers have won five of seven games, climbing back above .500 to 24-23. They’re still just ninth in the West, but they’re only 1.5 games back of the No. 8 Dallas Mavericks and 2.5 games back of the No. 7 New Orleans Pelicans.
Over their past seven games, they’re seventh in points scored per 100 possessions and seventh in net rating, a notable improvement for a group that ranks 20th in offense and 18th in net rating or the season. Saturday’s victory marked the second consecutive game the Lakers have set their season-high in points.
“It was just one of those wins where it just showed our character,” Ham said. “Our group is really coming together.”
The question now, of course, is if Saturday’s success is a breakthrough moment that will lead to sustained change, prioritizing what worked last season and is beginning to work again now that it’s been given the chance.
(Photo of LeBron James and Draymond Green: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
