And yet even in losing one of their defensive stalwarts in Cam Reddish because of a left groin strain, the goal the Lakers had in mind when they originally shuffled their lineup didn’t change.
Defense was and is the mandate for this group no matter who starts.
So, with Rui Hachimura starting in place of Reddish, joining Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt in his third straight start, the Lakers sought to put those words into action against the Charlotte Hornets at Crypto.com Arena.
“Defense is the foundation. It’s our theme,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “It has to be our identity.”
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The anchor of the Lakers defense is Davis and he was a force in the middle during their 133-112 win. Davis had four blocks to go with 26 points and eight rebounds in just 26 minutes.
His dunk over Charlotte center Nick Richards in the first half was the highlight of the game. It also was a moment in which Davis showed his emotions, a loud scream directly at Richards, which resulted in Davis being called for a technical foul.
“Yeah. Kentucky on Kentucky,” Davis said about the two former Kentucky Wildcats. “Some Kentucky love.”
Along with James (17 points, 11 assists in 25 minutes), Davis was able to rest in the fourth quarter because their teammates didn’t let up against the Hornets in building a 28-point lead.
Hachimura had 17 points, D’Angelo Russell finished with 16 points and nine assists, Austin Reaves scored 16 points, Max Christie had 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks and Christian Wood added nine points.
The Lakers had a season-high 41 assists on 52 successful field goals. They were 14 for 14 from the free-throw line. They scored 41 points in the third quarter to turn the game into a runaway. They shot 53.6 percent from the field and 50 percent (15 for 30) from three-point range. And their bench produced 63 points.
Lakers forward Taurean Prince, center, battles Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier for a loose ball in the first half.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“I thought it was a well-balanced win, a well-balanced team win, from the guys who started us off,” Ham said. “They came out blazing hot in that first quarter.”
The Lakers changed their lineup ahead of their win over Oklahoma City on Saturday and kept the same starting five during a loss to Boston on Monday.
Before they played the Hornets, the Lakers’ new lineup practiced for the first time Wednesday . That gave them a chance to develop chemistry.
Said Davis: “I think that’s going to be the lineup. And that first group — me, Bron, TP (Prince), Cam, Vando — we just got to keep logging minutes and keep figuring it out, especially on the defensive end. We’re all five defensive-minded players and we like playing defense so we’ll keep figuring out these schemes and how we can be better, and then, offensively, we’ll just figure it out.”
Lakers star Anthony Davis listens to the national anthem before playing the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Even when they had to make a quick change because Reddish was out, Hachimura filled the void with ease.
He was seven for 12 from the field and had four rebounds.
“Like Cam was out tonight, you plug in Rui,” Davis said. “We got a lot of different lineups. Obviously you want to stick with one lineup and kind of have it set where guys know their rotations and where they’re going to get their shots and where they’re going to play, but if we need to make an adjustment, we can always throw anybody in the spot.”
