Lakers forward Jake LaRavia has been starting lately as forward Rui Hachimura remains out because of a calf injury, and certainly on Friday night against the Grizzlies, he looked comfortable. LaRavia had 21 points and eight rebounds, shooting 8-for-12 from the field and 3-for-6 from the 3-point line in one of his better showings this season.
LaRavia played defense. He hustled. He made his shots when they were there, and didn’t force much offensively. He was, in other words, the player the Lakers hoped they were getting when they signed him to a two-year, $12 million contract in the offseason following the surprising departure of Dorian Finney-Smith.
The Lakers need players who fit a role when playing alongside LeBron James and Luka Doncic. LaRavia, along with guard Marcus Smart, did that on Friday and will get a chance to keep doing it going forward–Hachimura will be out another week, as coach JJ Redick said he will not travel on the upcoming two-game trip to New Orleans on Tuesday and San Antonio on Wednesday.
Jake LaRavia ‘More Comfortable’ Starting for Lakers
But even when Hachimura is healthy, there is some growing sense that the Lakers could make a lasting change to the starting five, with LaRavia at the 3 and Hachimura coming off the bench. Or, the Lakers could seek to trade away Hachimura altogether to add flexibility or fill another need.
That was the view of one Western Conference coach this week.
“Rui is the fifth option in that lineup, and he is just not good at being a fifth option–he needs the ball more,” the coach said. “I think Jake LaRavia is a lot more comfortable in that role, just playing with energy, playing that level of defense and not needing plays to be called for him to score.
“Rui needs to be more involved and he could get that on the second unit. It is really the defining problem of that team–you have five guys in the starting lineup who all need the ball. Can’t have that. You need at least two guys who can do the dirty work while the other three do their thing. You can’t have five guys who want to score on the floor together.”
‘The Ball Was Finding Me’
Moving LaRavia into the starting five–and perhaps moving Marcus Smart there, too-would give the Lakers a better balance in what has been a disjointed starting group. And LaRavia, whose signing was not popular in Lakersland, has been both a starter and a reserve plenty of times in his career.
He is averaging 9.1 points and 4.3 rebounds this season. His role has fluctuated, and he has endured a shooting slump but LaRavia has maintained his confidence.
“To be honest, I feel like I go into every game with that mentality,” he said. “Some games it happens, some games it doesn’t, it really just depends. Tonight, I got going pretty early and the ball was finding me, especially in that first half, and I was just able to get going and stay aggressive and finally knock down some shots.”
Lakers Urged to Make Starting Lineup Change Permanent