The Los Angeles Lakers have played five of six preseason games thus far and they have been enough to send the fanbase into a frenzy. Fans are beyond excited for the 2023-24 season as the Lakers have one of the deepest rosters in recent memory.
While the preseason play has been very exciting, there has also been one burning question that fans have not gotten the answer to. Darvin Ham has not committed to who the fifth starter on the team is going to be.
The candidates are Taurean Prince, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt. All three have played well when they have played in the preseason. Choosing between these three is tough and is a great problem to have. Head coach Darvin Ham has seemingly had his answer the entire time but has continuously played it coy.
It doesn’t look like Lakers fans are going to have to wait until the regular season starts to get their answer. The team’s final preseason game of the year against the Phoenix Suns is going to be a real tune-up and in that game, the fifth starter will be revealed.
Darvin Ham says he plans on playing the Lakers’ regular rotation for three quarters on Thursday vs. Phoenix.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 16, 2023
Lakers will reveal true fifth starter in final preseason game vs Suns
After watching a bloated rotation that Ham was actively trying to piece together, fans are going to see more of the completed product on Thursday. Granted, the rotation is an evolving thing that is going to change as the year goes along, but fans will at least get an idea of how the players will start the season in the rotation.
And in theory, if the Lakers are playing the regular rotation for three quarters then that should tell fans who the fifth starter is. It is reasonable to say that whoever starts in this game will start for the team and it will be interesting to see how Ham constructs the rotation around that.
That is the final box that needs to be checked off before the start of the regular season. Once fans figure out who the fifth starter is the next step will be games that really matter, starting with a rematch against the Denver Nuggets.
It is an exciting time to be a Lakers fan, regardless of who Ham tabs to be the fifth and final starter on the team.