The Los Angeles Lakers are off to a slow start this season that has not inspired a lot of optimism from the fanbase. While there was a brief two-game winning streak that provided some hope, ultimately, this Lakers team has been a mess thus far.
It is still early in the NBA season and they have time to right the ship and turn this season around but it is going to take a group effort. The team as a whole is simply going to have to play better and head coach Darvin Ham is going to have to fine-tune the rotation.
Los Angeles is getting injured players back in the near future in the likes of Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant, both of which have not played this season. When they return, there are players in the Lakers rotation who simply have to see their playing time get slashed.
Here are 3 Lakers who should get their playing time slashed by Darvin Ham:
1. Damian Jones
This is yet another example of the fanbase overrating a new player when said new player was never really that great to begin with. Despite Damian Jones being a 10-day contract player for most of his career, there was some optimism that he would be part of a dangerous 1-2 combo at center alongside Thomas Bryant.
That has not been the case at all this season. Not only has Jones been bad with the second-worst Box Plus/Minus on the team but he has not even been a big part of the rotation. Jones is averaging only eight minutes per game this season.
It might seem hard to “slash” someone’s playing time that is at the bottom of the rotation but that is exactly what Ham is going to have to do. With Wenyen Gabriel being a better option, Jones will find himself out of the rotation entirely once Bryant returns.