The Lakers have a bench scoring problem

While the Lakers may have figured out the right starting lineup, it has come at the cost of production off the bench.

After spending much of the season searching for answers, the Lakers finally settled on a starting lineup that makes the most sense, given what they have available.

Pairing D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves in the backcourt gives the team plenty of firepower. Rui Hachimura gives the Lakers a chance to exploit mismatches on a seemingly nightly basis.

While the defense has suffered, more often than not in the last month, the offense has powered the Lakers to wins. But they’re doing it almost solely on the back of their starting lineup and, in more recent matchups, a complete lack of production from the bench has become a growing issue.

Against the Kings, the Lakers’ bench was outscored 50-18. The Thunder’s bench won the battle 34-24 while the Clippers’ bench 30-14 advantage. It’s a recurring trend against some of the best teams that the bench is struggling.

After that Sacramento loss, head coach Darvin Ham was asked about his bench and how they can be more productive.

“Play faster,” Ham said. “Play the right way. Move the ball. Shoot it where you’re open. Simple as that. We’ve had games with six, seven games in double figures and that was the recipe. Play faster, be disciplined with your running habits, play for one another, make the simple play and be shot-aggressive.”

In shuffling Reaves, Rui and, for a brief period, D’Lo in and out of the starting lineup, the Lakers had a scoring punch off the bench. But when that trio moved into the starting lineup, the bench lost all of that production.

Since Feb. 3 when Hachimura entered this version of the starting lineup, the Lakers bench ranks 29th in points per game at 21.6. Having a low-scoring bench isn’t indicative of a poor team outright, though. The four teams ranking just above them are the Knicks, Celtics, Nuggets and Suns.

But it does put a whole lot of pressure on the starting lineup to contribute. And it puts pressure on the right lineup combinations when the bench comes into the game, something even more difficult with the host of injuries the Lakers are navigating.

On paper, the Lakers likely viewed Spencer Dinwiddie as the solution to those issues, but he has far from hit the ground running. He has only twice reached 10 points for the Lakers in 10 games and is shooting 37.3% from the field and 31.3% from the arc in that span.

The profile of the players coming off the bench outside of Dinwiddie are all limited offensively as well. Cam Reddish, for example, is more of a defense-first player. Taurean Prince is not a reliable offensive player on a night-to-night basis as well.

Max Christie is a young player still finding his footing, which leads to highs and low lows. Jaxson Hayes' offensive production feels more like a bonus, with his value being his energy level.

As mentioned, injuries have exacerbated this problem. If Jarred Vanderbilt were fully healthy, he would almost certainly start in lieu of one of Russell, Reaves, or Rui, moving their scoring to the bench. Christian Wood, prior to his injury, was also able to provide offensive production through his ability to space the floor.

Gabe Vincent remains almost completely a hypothetical when it comes to the Lakers this season, but he would certainly have provided a boost in that area as well. Without any of those players available, those on the bench have been elevated to outsized roles, and it’s been a domino effect from there.

Vincent seems set for a return this month and Wood’s injury is a short-term one. Vanderbilt’s recovery feels layered in uncertainty, so it’s hard to have expectations there. Relying on any of them to dramatically change things at this point in the season feels foolish.

Which places emphasis on lineup composition and mixing and matching players to avoid placing a scoring burden on those bench players.

Since Feb. 3, the Lakers starting lineup has a net rating of 0.8 in 189 minutes together. Ironically for a team that searched for a lineup for so long, no 5-man lineup in the league has played together more in that span. At the same time, no other lineup has played more than 38 minutes in that span and that lineup, which swaps out Prince for LeBron James, has a negative net rating.

The volume of lineups used in short bursts would indicate a team and coach searching for answers. Perhaps a bit more consistency will lead to improved production, but at the end of the day, the Lakers have a problem with their bench that is becoming impossible to ignore.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.