Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni is rolling the dice heading into the matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night by going with Jordan Hill as the starting power forward over veteran Antawn Jamison according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com via Twitter:
Jordan Hill will start at PF tonight. He started 2nd half vs Utah & D’Antoni likes how he’s playing. Jamison will come off bench.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) December 11, 2012
With no timetable for Pau Gasol’s return to the floor with tendinitis in both knees, the Lakers’ coaching staff will continue to mix things up in the starting lineup with Jamison and Hill battling it out for the starting role. D’Atoni has been adamant about Gasol remaining the starter once he’s healthy enough to return, there’s a chance that the new Lakers coach may stick with Hill or Jamison if they can help this team turn things around.
One of the main reasons for Jamison getting the start at power forward over the last few games has been his ability to be force from beyond the arc. With Jamison’s three-point shooting capability, the veteran forward was able to stretch the floor at times, but it hasn’t exactly been a game-changer for the Lakers with four losses in the last five games that Gasol has missed.
It’ll be interesting to see if Hill makes an impact as a starter under D’Antoni. One of the main factors going into this decision for D’Antoni may have been to put another physical rebounder in the paint alongside Dwight Howard for the Lakers to help boxout the league’s leading rebounder in Anderson Varejao of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Varejao is averaging 15.2 rebounds per game coming into the game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies’ Zach Randolph (12.9 rpg) and Howard (11.7 rpg).
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Check out our Lakers Nation exclusive interview with Jordan Hill!
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