Lakers Rumors: D'Angelo Russell Expected to Be Benched for Jarred Vanderbilt

Having lost five of their last six games and looking for a spark, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham is planning to make a change to his starting lineup.

Per Anthony Irwin of Blue Wire Pods and Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, Jarred Vanderbilt is expected to replace D'Angelo Russell in the starting five for Saturday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

This would be the second notable adjustment Ham has made to the starting group so far this season. He moved Austin Reaves to the bench after nine games, with Cam Reddish moving to the starting five.

Los Angeles' results since that switch have been better with 12 wins in 20 games after a 3-6 start to the season. Reaves is averaging 16.2 points on 39.0 percent three-point shooting with 5.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game in his last 21 games.

There have been some concerning results mixed in with some of those good moments that might necessitate another move. The Lakers still have the third-worst first-quarter scoring margin of any team in the NBA at minus-3.4. They are only ahead of the Detroit Pistons (minus-3.9) and Portland Trail Blazers (minus-4.4).

The Lakers have been outscored by 43 points in the first quarter combined in their past four games. Russell has good numbers overall this season with 15.3 points on 38.0 percent three-point shooting and 6.3 assists per game in 28 starts.

Since the start of December, though, Russell's performance has hit a wall. He's averaging 9.8 points per game on 37.5 percent shooting in eight games.

Per Sam Quinn of CBS Sports, the Lakers' starting five with Russell, Vanderbilt, Reaves, LeBron James and Anthony Davis outscored opponents by 20.6 points per 100 possessions down the stretch in the 2022-23 regular season.

Vanderbilt is still working his way back into game shape after missing the first six weeks of the season due to a heel injury. He's scored a total of seven points on 3-of-16 shooting in eight appearances since making his debut on Dec. 2.

Speaking to reporters after Monday's loss to the New York Knicks, Vanderbilt admitted he's still limited in what he can do because of the injury.

"It's still a process," he said. "I've played five games now. I wasn't expecting it to come back overnight. Keep trying to stay positive, keep pushing through it."

All of these issues have put an even heavier burden on James and Davis to carry the Lakers. They are holding up their end of the bargain, but the team is still just ninth in the Western Conference with a 15-14 record.