Lakers: 3 Takeaways From Weekend Losses to Jazz, Rockets

It’s Time to Shake Up the Starting Backcourt Again

The dust has all but settled on Scott’s baffling decision to demote D’Angelo Russell from the starting lineup in favor of starting Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams. However, as that dust settles, the picture is becoming clearer that starting those two guards and playing them in the backcourt together is largely problematic for the Lakers and something that needs to change.

For one, it’s telling that the Clarkson’s point-differential over the two weekend losses was a poor -33 while Williams’ was even worse at -47. Even though Russell played similar minutes to those two coming off the bench, his combined differential wasn’t nearly as bad at only -15 in the two losses by wide margins.

When Clarkson and Williams are on the floor together, the first problem that arises is that the defense suffers in a big way. Both guards are essentially saloon doors on the perimeter in terms of preventing penetration and also struggle to consistently get hands in the faces of shooters. More problematic, though, is that the duo fosters the unsightly isolation-heavy offense that has been detrimental to the team all season.

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While saying that Scott needs to start Russell is essentially beating a dead horse at this point, he definitely has to shake up something in the starting backcourt. Clarkson and Williams starting together is doing neither player nor Russell any favors while also hurting the Lakers as a whole. The two losses this weekend only banged that point home more emphatically.