The Los Angeles Lakers have been on a bit of a roll as of late, as they picked up their fifth straight win on Wednesday night with a 136-124 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. While there have been a lot of things working for the team, head coach Darvin Ham's decision to stick Rui Hachimura in the starting lineup appears to be the main catalyst for this run.
Ever since making Hachimura a full-time starter back on February 3rd, the Lakers have gone 16-7, and they have received some stellar play from the talented wing during that stretch (15.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1 APG, 58.4 FG%, 45.3 3P%). With Hachimura and the rest of the Lakers balling out as a result of this decision, it's fair to wonder if Ham regrets turning to him as late as he did, but the second-year coach didn't see it that way, saying that the lineup conundrum figured itself out when it was supposed to.
Darvin Ham was asked if he wishes he went to this current starting lineup of Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell earlier in the season given Rui's success as a starter.
Here's his response: pic.twitter.com/zLQqfaddhq
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) March 28, 2024
Darvin Ham's big Rui Hachimura decision paying dividends for Lakers
We all saw what Hachimura was capable of during the Lakers playoff run last season, but when the 2023-24 campaign kicked off, Ham decided to keep bringing him off the bench, instead using Taurean Prince as the fifth starter. However, Ham needed a spark, and he turned to their best scorer off the bench in search of a way to help this team win.
Sure enough, the results have been great. Not only has Hachimura taken a step forward with his play, but the rest of LA's starters all seem to have responded positively to the move. With the starting lineup finally being sorted out, Ham can figure out the rest of his rotation just in time for the playoffs.
Even with all of this winning, the Lakers still sit in ninth place in the Western Conference, meaning that they would be forced to participate in the Play-In Tournament in an effort just to make it to the playoffs. They are within striking distance of the team's ahead of them, though, as they sit 2.5 games behind the six seed Dallas Mavericks as they try to avoid the Play-In Tournament. However, with only nine regular season games left, the chances of that happening are slim.
This isn't unfamiliar territory for Los Angeles, though, as they escaped the play-in last year and managed to make it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, where they bowed out against the eventual champions in the Denver Nuggets. The team would obviously rather just earn a playoff spot, but being in the play-in is better than not being in it at all.
Assuming the Lakers can keep up the positive momentum with this new look lineup, no one is going to want to face them in the postseason. And while LeBron James and Anthony Davis will get most of the attention for leading this squad, Ham's decision to insert Hachimura into the starting lineup could end up being the difference between another deep playoff run, and crashing out earlier than expected.
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