The Los Angeles Lakers have won three games in a row to bring their record up to 8-27 but that is still the worst mark in the Western Conference. So although the Lakers are feeling as good as they have all season there are clearly still things that need to be worked out and head coach Byron Scott is considering changing his starting lineup. One of the big changes Scott is considering is replacing Jordan Clarkson in the starting lineup with D'Angelo Russell, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
The idea of making this change was brought up before Sunday's blowout win over the Phoenix Suns but Scott decided not to make the change for that game. Now, with the Lakers on a winning streak, it is fair to wonder whether making the change would be smart because they are having the most success they have had all season.
Lakers fans likely don't care about this minor winning streak because they know this team is going nowhere this season so they instead want to see the younger players develop. In the beginning of the season Scott was starting Russell, Clarkson and Julius Randle all together and those are the three keys to the Lakers future but recently Randle and Russell have been coming off the bench in favor of Lou Williams and Larry Nance Jr. Nance Jr. is another young player the Lakers are very high on and he has played well recently.
Meanwhile, Williams has consistently been the team's best player all season so it would be hard to justify taking him out of the starting lineup without going down the tanking road. Fans likely love the idea of getting Russell back into the starting lineup but it coming at the expense of Clarkson wouldn't exactly be ideal. Clarkson was the Lakers best player a year ago and has been right there with Williams so far this season so the best bet for the Lakers' future would probably be to try and get Russell and Clarkson to form some chemistry playing together.
Scott certainly has a lot to figure out as the Lakers future which has looked bleak at times this year looks a little brighter with some of their younger guys playing quality minutes. A change isn't guaranteed to happen at all but if it does it will likely come later rather than sooner considering the winning streak. This might all be moot for Tuesday night though as Russell is listed as questionable to play against the Golden State Warriors as he is dealing with an illness.
