With the Los Angeles Lakers set to begin the home stretch of the 2015-16 NBA season, head coach Byron Scott has said that the team’s young players will begin getting more minutes. That means players like Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell and others should see plenty of time on the court.
Much of the focus has been on Russell, who has remained coming off the bench, but Randle was also in an interesting situation as previous starter Larry Nance Jr. has finally gotten healthy.
Randle, however, has played extremely well in Nance’s absence and according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, he will remain a starter for the rest of the season:
Byron said that Julius Randle will start the rest of the season
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) February 19, 2016
This is good news for Randle who has shown marked improvement in recent weeks. He has averaged 12.6 points and 12.6 rebounds in the month of February and has looked much more in control than at the outset of the season. He is also showing more confidence in his jumper and has even finished with his right hand on a few occasions.
The question now will become who will join Randle in the starting lineup. Scott has said that Russell will return at some point soon, but no one knows if there will be changes in the frontcourt.
The Lakers could start going small and start Nance alongside Randle as the rookie was playing well before his injuries. Tarik Black is another young option who should get more minutes down the stretch, so who Scott ultimately goes with will be worth watching.
