Metta World Peace Starts In Minnesota
With the Lakers in Minnesota playing the second game of a back-to-back road swing there was one minor surprise as the game began. Mike Brown inserted Metta World Peace into the starting lineup for the first time this season.
MWP replaces Matt Barnes at the small forward spot.
Mike Trudell reported that Coach Brown didn’t give a specific reason for the change. One can assume that the move comes as a result of Metta’s inconsistent play off the bench and is, perhaps, an admission that the 6th man experiment is over.
Having shown some of that old school Ron Artest energy against the Clippers, Brown must have realized what a difference an active World Peace can make. Hopefully this change results in increased production for Metta while adding an experienced defensive presence to the starting five. Thus far Metta has yet to score and has one rebound through the first half of play but more importantly the Lakers have a healthy lead.