Lakers lineup: NBA insider gives LATEST UPDATE on Darvin Ham’s change in Game 2 strategy

Darvin Ham and the Los Angeles Lakers lost Game 1 against the Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets. They almost made a comeback from a 21-point deficit but weren’t able to finish the job. The Nuggets got the dub at 132-126 behind Nikola Jokic’s triple-double. As the Los Angeles-based team was just not able to stop the 2×MVP for three straight quarters. But the Darvin Ham-led coaching staff figured out the formula during the final twelve minutes and it was putting Rui Hachimura on him.

As with Rui Hachimura guarding Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis had space to move around while locking down Aaron Gordon. And, this defensive adjustment made by Darvin Ham and his crew even solved the problem of getting outrebounded by the Nuggets. In Game 1, the Los Angeles Lakers got 30 rebounds against the 47 of Nuggets. They were also 3-22 and 13-36 at different moments of the game on the rebounding end.

Now hours before Game 2, Darvin Ham and his coaching staff aren’t taking any risk and plan to make a defensive adjustment in their starting line-up to even the series at 1-1. As Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report recently reported: “Sources tell me Darvin Ham is considering starting Rui Hachimura for Game 2. It’s a decision he’s keeping very close to the vest.”

Rui Hachimura hasn’t been disappointing at all and has had his moments in the post-season so far. And, now it’s time for him to shine by stopping Nikola Jokic and he has the right size to do so. The adjustment worked great in Game 1 and Darvin Ham probably believes it will work better if Rui Hachimura is in the starting line-up and doing his magic early.

Related: “Got ANNIHILATED on backboards” – Skip Bayless berates Anthony Davis, Lakers’ ‘embarrassing’ Game 1 loss to Nuggets

Who will Darvin Ham replace Rui Hachimura with in the starting lineup?

It’s a great defensive move of Darvin Ham to promote Rui Hachimura to the starting lineup. But now with a promotion in the limited space of five players, someone would be demoted to the bench. But it isn’t really a demotion and it’s a team game so that’s how things work. Darvin Ham would obviously not bench LeBron James and Anthony Davis. So the guy who’ll have to give up his starting spot for the team’s success would be someone from Austin Reaves, Dennis Schroder, and D’Angelo Russell.

Darvin Ham knows Austin Reaves is the guy who can turn tables around on the offensive end, so making him come off the bench isn’t a smart move. So it’s fair to say it will be either Dennis Schroder or D’Angelo Russell who won’t start the game.

Rumors have already been reported for D’Angelo Russell, that if he’s made to come off-the-bench the team can lose him mentally for the series. And, that’s something that the Denver Nuggets want. So it’s going to be a tough decision for Darvin Ham as even Dennis Schroder is important in the system. And, will have to wait for the starting lineup to be revealed for Game 2 to know the adjustment and fortunately, there ain’t many hours left for it to happen.

In Case You Missed It:

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• D’Angelo Russell will consider EXIT from Lakers for ‘starting off bench’ in playoffs, fears Darvin Ham’s front office

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