Unhappy Schüschenke for injuries Laker’s opportunity to switch to a new starting line -up

One of the most challenging aspects of a head coach is to bring a player into the news that your place in the starting line -up is taken. It is an experience with which JJ Redick has already become familiar with the Los Angeles Lakers in his first season.

However, basketball looks mysterious, and Redick may have given a chance at the same time and was burdened with an unpleasant conversation.

Rui Hachimura unfortunately missed the latest game of the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors. Hachimura had to deal with a CAF injury that shouldn’t keep him away for so long, but at least led to a temporary absence.

In his place, Dorian Finney-Smith made his first start as a member of the purple and gold and the Lakers received a preview of what they could become.

When Finney-Smith started, the Lakers played an impressive defense on the way to a 118-108 victory over the Warriors. The victory brought Los Angeles to 25-18, which has been the best record in 43 games since the Covid-Shorted 2020-21 campaign.

Hachimura has not necessarily done anything to lose his place as a starter, but the chance of seamlessly adding Finney-Smith in the line-up cannot be taken for granted.

Dorian Finney-Smith is the perfect starter from Lakers

So far, Los Angeles’ starting line-up was dominant at one end of the floor in 2024-25 and lazy on the other. The starter of the Lakers occupy the NBA in the offensive evaluation, while this production compensates for this production with the 27th place in the defensive evaluation.

Hachimura is not the main source of the mistakes of the Lakers, but the team just needs something that it is not necessarily equipped to offer them.

With LeBron James and Austin Reaves on the pitch, Los Angeles have to accept a measure of defensive inconsistency. Both are high-ranking offensive players, with James deserving all-star honors and starting to throw his name into the ring.

Unfortunately, they are also not in contradiction to the defense-die Laker, they have to surround with high-ranking defenders to mask their defects and perform as a team at a sustainable level.

Hachimura is a solid defensive player who made progress in every phase of the game in 2024-25. However, Finney-Smith deserves his living as one of the best 3-and-D players in the NBA, who has the defensive instincts and the track record to justify this distinction.

It was obviously just a game, but the Lakers starter produced a net value of plus 11.8 against the Warriors and improved their defense assessment by 3.1 points per 100 possessions.

It is also worth noting that the Lakers grant the 93rd percentile in the net rating when Finney-Smith shares the dish with Anthony Davis. It is still a limited sample size, but it speaks for the difference between Davis, who plays with a quality defender, and a player who has proven to be a borderline elite caliber.

It is unfortunate that Hachimura is in this situation, but the Lakers should change Finney-Smith, while the opportunity exists in a natural way.