The Los Angeles Lakers have announced that not only LeBron James will be starting in Wednesday night’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, but the team will debut a brand new starting five of D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, James, Jarred Vanderbilt and Anthony Davis.
Lakers starters: Russell, Beasley, LeBron, Vanderbilt and Davis
That’s the three former Wolves, who know to play with one another, plus LeBron and AD.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) February 16, 2023
James had missed the Lakers’ last three contests. The team had gone 1-3 in his absence.
The Lakers can ill afford dropping further in the Western Conference standings, as they are just 26-32 on the season and 2.5 games out of the play-in tournament.
The four-time MVP will finally get a chance to take the court with his brand new teammates in Russell, Beasley and Vanderbilt. James is averaging 30.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game on the season.
Russell has impressed so far in his return to the Lakers as he put up 15 and 16 points respectively against Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers. He’s putting up 17.8 points on 46.5 percent shooting and 38.7 percent from distance for the season.
After going 0-6 from distance in his Lakers debut, Beasley started to find his rhythm in Portland as he finished the game with 6-of-12 from deep.
Vanderbilt continues to be instant energy and a nightmare for opposing offenses as his length and versatility are exactly what the team has needed on the wing.
With an infusion of new talent, the Lakers will need to find chemistry quickly and start putting together some wins as they have just 24 games left in the season. The next couple weeks should determine whether we’ll see L.A. in the postseason or if they will miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
