"Real 'Ham and Prince' vibes" - Lakers fans liken JJ Redick favoring misfiring $51M wing to Darvin Ham-Taurean Prince situation 

The LA Lakers fans have been furious with JJ Redick favoring out-of-form forward Rui Hachimura. The Japanese star hasn't been performing close to his potential lately, failing to make an impact on either end of the floor. For some on Lakers' Twitter, it's the same situation as Darvin Ham favoring Taurean Prince last year, despite the adverse effect it had on the team's results.

Hachimura had another rough outing after he managed only six points, two rebounds and one assist in a 118-97 loss for the Lakers against the Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving-less Dallas Mavericks. Hachimura shot 3 of 5 and missed his only two 3-point attempts of the night.

The Lakers fans were furious with JJ Redick's coaching in this game, especially with his decision to start Rui Hachimura over Dorian Finney-Smith. One fan compared it to the Ham-Prince situation from last season, saying:

"Starting to get real “Ham and Prince” vibes from this JJ and Rui situation"

"I tried my best to hold off on a JJ hate tweet but if I see Rui in the starting lineup next game you’re getting that Darvin Ham treatment," another said.

"Dude tries the same stuff every game and expect a different result I’m done bro," one fan added.

Another fan demanded JJ Redick's firing.

"I’m calling for him to be fired. Rui has to go. He played horrible against the starting lineup and the second unit."

"Yeah I also tried so hard not to criticize JJ for this whole season," one fan said.

"He's a bad coach," one fan said.

Benching Rui Hachimura for Dorian Finney Smith should be ideal for JJ Redick LA Lakers

The LA Lakers have leaned into a defensive identity over the past month, which saw the team's record improve drastically after a mediocre stretch in November. Dorian Finney-Smith's addition further proved where the team's identity was heading in terms of their approach.

With Rui Hachimura struggling to impact the game offensively, his minutes and place in the starting lineup are up for debate, especially with Dorian Finney-Smith looking much better with the other four players. Finney-Smith is an efficient player off the ball on offense, who can knock down 3s at a high level. He's also their best wing defender with Jarred Vanderbilt still on the sidelines.

Over the past three games before Tuesday's game, he averaged 8.0 points and 3.7 rebounds, shooting 38.5% from 3, playing only 24.3 minutes per game. He was the best role player for the Lakers against the Mavericks, tallying 11 points and three rebounds on 3 of 4 3-point shooting.

Finney-Smith was the only player with a positive box +/- (+3) on the Lakers. The ideal move for JJ Redick and the Lakers should be to insert him in the starting lineup over Rui Hachimura.

It would allow the latter to play more freely and control the game with the second unit.