“Blamed it on Injuries”: Shams Charania Points Out Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves Contradicting Darvin Ham to Highlight Lakers Coach’s Troubles

The Los Angeles Lakers’ poor performances of late have appeared to create a plethora of rifts in the locker room. According to Shams Charania via the Run It Back show, there is a growing discontentment in the Lakers’ locker room, owing to a range of recent decisions taken by head coach Darvin Ham. The coach, following the Lakers’ recent loss against the Miami Heat, blamed his team’s struggles on the kind of injuries they have had to recently deal with.

However, as Charania pointed out, both Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis only recently contradicted their coach. In their post-match conferences, both players claimed that the team had more than enough talent to win games and that injuries were not a real cause for concern.

“I’m told there’s a growing, deepening disconnect between Darvin Ham and that Lakers locker room right now, and a lot of it is stemming from extreme rotational changes, lineup changes,” he said, before talking about the coach’s recent decision to put LeBron James as a the point guard, against the OKC Thunder.

Charania talked about how the Lakers had been guilty of using as many as 10 lineups in the season already and had no idea what their strongest five was. While injuries have seemingly played a part, especially with some of the rotational pieces, Ham’s own players believe that the team should be performing much better.

“Just last night, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves came out and said injuries are not a factor. This team has enough talent to win games and should be playing at a higher level,” he said, before exposing how the coach’s comments contradicted his players.

“I’m told there’s a growing, deepening disconnect between Darvin Ham and that Lakers locker room right now, and a lot of it is stemming from extreme rotational changes, lineup changes.”@ShamsCharania on Head Coach Darvin Ham and the Lakers.

: https://t.co/wdT8I0ST8g pic.twitter.com/wQUUWBNy6b

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 4, 2024

“Darvin Ham took the other approach, blamed it on injuries, blamed it on the lack of consistency with guys in and out of the lineup., On the other hand, Darvin Ham also said that being without Rui Hachimura, Russell and Gabe Vincent is the same as Miami being without Jimmy Butler,” he claimed.

Hence, on one hand, Ham appears to be losing the Lakers’ locker room, with the team now having lost 8 of their last 10 games. On the other hand, his players are still confident in each other’s ability and believe that the team has everything it needs to perform better, despite the injuries. Of course, for a team that went all the way to the WCF last time around, the criticism is entirely justified.

Lou Williams also believes LA Lakers do not know their best starters

Lou Williams also recently went into detail about the kind of struggles the LA Lakers have had to undergo. He claimed that while he does not know what their best lineup is, he was certain that even the Lakers had no idea.

Williams claimed that a range of NBA teams have been playing good basketball around the league, and the Lakers seem to be in exactly the position they deserve to be. Now with a record of 17-18, LeBron James and Co. are not even a 50% team.

“I have no idea what’s [the Los Angelos Lakers’] best lineup, I don’t think they know.”@TeamLou23 doesn’t think the Lakers have figured out their best starting 5.

: https://t.co/wdT8I0ST8g pic.twitter.com/R3P32jsBJ5

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 4, 2024

While AD and Reaves claimed that the Lakers have enough to produce wins, Williams claimed that the lineup they currently had, was playing exactly the kind of basketball they have been. The former 76er expects the Lakers to be heavily involved with trades in the coming window, with a range of names already being linked to moves.

This includes the likes of Austin Reaves and De’Angello Russell, with the latter especially having failed to make a consistent impact. Similar to last year, when the team made significant changes and came out stronger, the Lakers would be expecting to have a similar improvement this year. Hence, before the Lakers become potential title contenders again, a range of changes can be expected.