Head coach Luke Walton will continue to shake things up for the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night in terms of the starting lineup.
Walton intends to have D’Angelo Russell come off the bench against the Denver Nuggets while putting Jordan Clarkson in the starting lineup at point guard, according to Lakers reporter Mike Trudell:
Walton said Clarkson will start at PG tonight, moving Russell to the bench. “We’re going to look for opportunities to try new things.”
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 14, 2017
Russell’s demotion to the bench isn’t due to poor performance. Although Russell is coming off a forgettable game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, Walton wants to continue to experiment with the players he has and will still give the second-year guard plenty of minutes on Monday, via Trudell:
Walton said he likes how Russell has been playing and that he’ll still play 30+ min. off the bench. Line ups fluid for rest of season.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 14, 2017
As for Clarkson, the 24-year-old is coming off arguably one of the best games of his short career. Clarkson scored a career-high 30 points to go along with eight assists in the loss to the 76ers and will look to keep the momentum going on the road this week.
The Lakers will attempt to get another win over the Nuggets on Monday which will give them the edge in the season series between the two teams. Clarkson’s play at the point guard position will be watched closely as Walton may be considering shifting Russell to shooting guard or have him play more in the second unit.
It’ll be interesting to see how the two young guards fair as they play different roles in tonight’s game against a team hoping to clinch a playoff spot in the coming weeks.
