Getty D'Angelo Russell #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after a play with Gabe Vincent #7 in the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings.
The Los Angeles Lakers‘ point guard crisis reached an alarming level after Gabe Vincent elected to have knee surgery.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Vincent will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his ailing left knee as soon as Tuesday, December 26, and will miss 6-to-8 weeks.
Vincent has only appeared in five games for the Lakers this season after signing a three-year, $33 million contract this past offseason.
“You just have to make sure everything is well and good with him and his health first and foremost,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said via Spectrum SportsNet on December 23. “And then you just try to activate Plan B, which is next man up, so to speak.
“Out No. 1, top priority is just to make sure that we know what’s going on with him, and put him in a position where he can get healthy.”
Their Plan B was to have LeBron James start as the point guard, replacing the ineffective D’Angelo Russell.
The ploy worked against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who beat them 133-110 on November 30. With James controlling the pace and Russell playing without pressure off the bench, the Lakers turned the tables.
The 38-year-old James became the oldest NBA player to score 40 points on a perfect 3-point shooting to power the Lakers to a much-needed 129-120 win over the Thunder on Saturday, December 23, on the road.
LeBron tonight:
40 PTS
7 REB
7 AST
2 STL
2 BLK
5-5 3P
The oldest player in NBA history with 40+ points and 100 3P% in a game.
Russell added 15 points off the bench, including eight straight points to start the second quarter which ignited the Lakers breakaway.
D’Angelo Russell Reacts to Benching
Russell was in no mood to talk about the details of his tough conversation with Ham about his demotion following his struggles and puzzling comment about playing defense as an “extra” job.
“That’s all I got for you,” Rusell said after coming off the bench for the first time since the last playoffs. “I have nothing to add about the conversation. It is what it is. I have no comments or no headlines for you.”
Russell wanted the focus on the team snapping their skid rather than dwell on his relegation to the bench.
“The result was a win,” Russell said. “So for me, that’s all that matters.”
Lineup Switch Gives Lakers Defensive Versatility
The Lakers’ new-look starting five switched everything defensively, catching the Thunder off guard.
“We add a lot of length from the perimeter to our wings all the way down to our center,” James told Spectrum Sportsnet’s sideline reporter Mike Trudell of Russell’s removal from the starting lineup.
“Obviously in [Anthony Davis], we have the ability to guard multiple positions, switch a lot of actions but more importantly we were able to clean glass and I thought when they missed shots, especially in that second and third quarter, we cleaned glass. They gave us an opportunity to score on another end.”
Despite the win, their big-picture problem remains: their point guard rotation remains spotty.
Will the Lakers stand pat with James, who will turn 39 next week, as their starting point guard while Vincent is on the mend? Or will the Lakers be forced to trade for a starting point guard?