Darvin Ham seems to be pretty sure he likes swingman Taurean Prince around future Hall of Famers LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but the other two slots are very much up in the air.
At present, it appears that Ham wants to keep the starting five he employed during his club’s 129-109 blowout against the New Orleans Pelicans yesterday. Power forwards Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt are the current other two players in the opening lineup. Unsurprisingly, they were roundly outscore in the opening quarter.
Austin Reaves, the team’s third-best player, deserves to start alongside James and Davis. James needs supplemental playmaking and more spacing among the starters. After the game, the 6’9″ superstar noted how much he valued the third-year swingman’s contributions, per Michael Corvo of ClutchPoints. “Austin’s great. I like Austin no matter where he is. Obviously, it’s always great to be on the floor with him. No matter if he’s coming off the bench or if he’s starting. I just love being on the floor with him. He makes plays.” All that is well and good but also, you know, Austin Reaves should should start. Through 34 games (nine starts), Reaves is averaging 15.1 points on .477/.357/.877 shooting splits, 4.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 0.9 steals.
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