Luka Doncic’s “unbelievable” view of LA’s new lineup

LOS ANGELES – As the NBA continues to evolve in terms of “positionless” basketball and non-traditional lineups, Los Angeles Lakers have played most of this season with only one big on the floor. But as the Lakers continue to search for consistency, head coach JJ Redick has debuted a different frontcourt lineup in recent games that has featured multiple players. The lineup was efficient, and the Lakers were stars Luka Dončić is a fan.

Drew Timme entered the rotation and he played with both Deandre Ayton or Jarred Vanderbilt. During the Lakers’ win against the Toronto Raptors last week, all three were on the field together. After the Lakers’ loss to the LA Clippers on Thursday, Luka Doncic talked about the effectiveness of the frontcourt rotation and the boost they gave the team.

“Obviously we’ve got a few more games after scoring. I feel like Drew has done an amazing job playing the right way and his game, props to him. I think he just fits right in on this team,” Doncic said. “And obviously Wando has been amazing … he’s been fighting every game, so we’ve just got to help them.”

During Lakers win against Dallas Mavericks on saturday, redick went away from his big men in the fourth quarter as the team mounted another comeback from a double-digit deficit. The lineup the Lakers used to win consisted of two guards in Doncic and Marcus Smart, and three forwards in LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and Jake Laravia.

But as Redick mentioned going back to his first season as a head coach, lineups and rotations will be fluid and could vary depending on the matchup and what’s happening on the court. So a small lineup that works against the Mavericks doesn’t necessarily mean that a big lineup won’t be considered again.

After the Lakers’ win against the Raptors last weekend, Redick admitted he was a little in awe when he first saw the trio of Timme, Ayton and Vanderbilt together on the court.

“You get the buffer, and we talked about it so I knew it was coming, but it was still a little nerve-wracking to see Wand, Drew, DA (Deandre), LeBron, it’s a big lineup,” Redick said. “They did a good job playing out of the post during that stretch and we were able to get stops and runs as well, so I thought they did a good job.”