JJ Redick has revealed the LA Lakers’ starting lineup for the regular season opener, with LeBron James sidelined due to right-side sciatica, an issue he has been dealing with since July that also kept him out of training camp.The Lakers announced that James will miss three to four weeks because of the injury. Filling his spot in the starting five alongside Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton will be 6-foot-2 guard Gabe Vincent, who enters the final year of his three-year, $33 million contract in 2025-26.Some fans, however, weren’t thrilled with JJ Redick's choice, comparing his decision to that of former Lakers coach Darvin Ham, who often relied on three-guard lineups featuring Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley and Dennis Schroder.“Did Darvin Ham pick the starting lineup?? 3 guards,” one said.“3 guard lineup in 2025 jj redick thinks is the 2k rec center,” another said.“Dats legit stupid, JJ startin to piss me off already, why are we goin small? (Marcus) Smart or vando (Jarred Vanderbilt) has to start tf,” another commented.Here are other reactions from Laker fans.Ed @EdintheNewsLINKI can only hope that this starting 5 will just be Warriors centric and not used past game 1 of the regular seasonAjit Pawar @AjitPaw09633235LINKInteresting, I wonder how they’ll stagger Luka, AR, and Gabe since that’s all 3 of our ball handlers on the court together. Excluding Lebrong for the time being obviously. A more fitting lineup would’ve been Vando as the 5thabdmkabli(2) @abdmkabli80LINKWtf???? Vando is right there jj🤦🏼🤦🏼🤦🏼Jarred Vanderbilt, another option for the starting forward spot, has struggled with injuries throughout his Lakers stint, appearing in just 91 games over three seasons. However, he looked healthy in preseason, showing his trademark defensive hustle and energy.JJ Redick on his starting five philosophyJJ Redick said he weighed several candidates to replace James, including Vanderbilt, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia, before ultimately choosing Gabe Vincent, who joined the Lakers in the 2023-24 season.Before making his decision public, Redick explained his approach to lineup construction.“You want to put your five best players on the court as much as possible,” Redick said (per Khobi Price of the Southern California News Group). “You also want to have balance with every lineup. When we do our substitution metrics, who is going to guard? Who is going to create? Are we going to have enough shooting? So you’re doing that with every lineup you put out there, including the starting lineup.“But I think, with the starting lineup, I don’t know how important it is to have certain guys whether or not they start. I’m sure every guy wants to start. I played with a few players that didn’t care and they’re okay with coming off the bench even though they were a starting-caliber player.”The Lakers will open their regular season next Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena, where they’ll face Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.