The Los Angeles Lakers — back to .500 with six games to play — trotted out their 37th different starting lineup for their short-awaited rematch with the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Wednesday. But unlike on Sunday, when the Bulls spoiled LeBron James' return, the Lakers deployed their long-awaited ideal starting five: LeBron, D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Anthony Davis.

“We just wanted to try to put them in some uncomfortable positions with their defense and sort of spread the ball around a little bit,” said Darvin Ham. “Not overdose on any one or two actions but try to slowly sift through the offense and see what was bringing us the most returns.”

The lineup, which had previously logged seven total possessions, was a +20 in 17 minutes. The Lakers' bench was a -14 in a game in which the team triumphed by 11.

“If you can dominate the game from a lot of different areas and have that versatility — I mean, I don't know if you can name anything Austin Reaves can't really do on the offensive end that. He dominates the game,” Russell said. “And myself, try to do the same. So when you got us next to (LeBron and AD) out there, the game is just super simple.”

“When A is playing with force, it's easy for guys to eat off that wave,” Ham added about Davis “It's easy for Bron to roam free.”

Because of injuries and shifts in performance, the Lakers hadn't yet trotted out the DLo/Reaves/LeBron/Vando/AD unit (which could be the starting lineup in 2023-23). Wednesday's performance should solidify this group as the A-team going forward.

Let's go to the box score:

  • Anthony Davis: 38 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, +16
  • LeBron James: 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, +23
  • D'Angelo Russell: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, +35
  • Austin Reaves: 19 points, 5 assists +28
  • Jarred Vanderbilt: 8 points, 7 rebounds, +11

“We have multiple ball handlers, we got shotmakers … and we got a lot of length,” said LeBron about the starting lineup. “It gives us a lot to do defensively.”

Behind that group, the Lakers jumped out to a 27-10 lead in the first quarter before the bench allowed the Bulls to get back in the game. Late into the third quarter, Los Angeles' starters had scored 72 of 79 points until the second unit surrendered an 11-0 run. The Lakers reinserted the starters and comfortably closed out Chicago, punctuated by Reaves avenging the Lakers by hitting Pat Bev with a “too small” gesture. LeBron approved.

When fully healthy, the Lakers' ceiling for any one game extends as high as any team in the NBA. Ultimately, that's the argument for backing them to make a deep playoff run. In Chicago, we finally saw a glimpse of what that could look like.

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As the playoffs loom, sources say the Lakers may have finally found their starting — and closing — lineup. Whether it's sustainable? Only time will tell.

What's next

The Lakers will visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, the Houston Rockets on Sunday, and the Utah Jazz next Tuesday before returning to Los Angeles for a “road” matchup with the Clippers.

As Thursday begins, the Lakers hold the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference playoff picture, half a game behind the Wolves and 1.5 games behind the Golden State Warriors for the No. 6 seed — Los Angeles' ultimate goal. They sit only 3.0 games behind the Phoenix Suns (41-35) for home-court advantage in the first round, though making up that ground with such little time left will be tough.

Still, getting out of the play-in tournament isn't out of the question, especially if this starting lineup continues to dominate.