O.C. Register: Lakers coach Phil Jackson made a radical change to the starting lineup Wednesday, ousting forward Vladimir Radmanovic and inserting Luke Walton in his place.
Walton played just under 23 minutes and scored eight points, with six assists and a pair of steals in a victory against Phoenix.
Radmanovic did not play at all.
As for now, that switch will remain intact.
Jackson confirmed Thursday that Walton would start for the second consecutive game when the Lakers play the Sacramento Kings tonight at Staples Center. It will be the teams’ second meeting in three days and redemption will be in the hearts of the Lakers after they were embarrassed by the Kings (6-16) in a 113-101 loss Tuesday at Arco Arena.
When asked about his decision to bench Radmanovic, who had started the previous 20 games, and replace him with Walton, who had played 58 minutes spaced out over 12 games, Jackson said it did not take much contemplation.
“Actually, it wasn’t something that I took a long time debating about,” he said. “We had been playing well enough and particularly Vladi has been helping us out at the beginning of games.”
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