Since winning the inaugural In-Season tournament, the Los Angeles Lakers have won three games and lost 11, slumping below .500 for the year. After their embarrassing loss to the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat, NBA insider Shams Charania reported that there was “a growing disconnect” between head coach Darvin Ham and the team. Lakers rookie Maxwell Lewis even liked a post on Instagram entailing the details of Charania’s report, seemingly confirming that it is accurate.
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The Lakers were flying high after beating the Indiana Pacers in the In-Season tournament final in early December and in a decent position on the Western Conference table with a 14-10 record. However, things have gone south very quickly since. Less than a month after the Final in Vegas, they are now 17-18 and sit just 10th in the Western Conference standings.
Per Charania, the Lakers players are baffled by Ham’s extreme rotations. Thirty-five games into the season, the Lakers are yet to establish their starting 5. They have fielded three different starting lineups in their last three games. The changes had no effect, as they lost all three. During this time, Ham has been consistently relying on the Lakers’ injuries as an excuse. Following the loss to the Heat, he said:
“We can’t find any consistency until we get healthy. It’s as simple as that. We gotta get healthy. We gotta get healthy. Guys gotta [get healthy]. And once you get healthy, guys gotta get back in rhythm.”
While injuries can be a valid excuse in most cases, losing to a Heat team without Butler by 14 points at home just isn’t one of them. Amidst this situation, Lakers superstar LeBron James may not have voiced his frustration, but his actions did the talking. He left the arena without talking to the media. This was only the third time in his 21-year career that he avoided talking to journalists after a game.
James first did it after the Orlando Magic eliminated him and the Cleveland Cavaliers from the playoffs with a win in Game 6 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals. The second time came after the Lakers lost at home against the Toronto Raptors in March 2022. The Lakers slumped to 29-39 after that loss.
James’ exit after the loss to the Heat spoke volumes about his discontent with the team’s form. And Lewis’ Freudian slip by liking the post on Instagram is confirmation that Ham is on the hot seat.
Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves expose Darvin Ham’s excuse
While Darvin Ham blamed injuries for the Lakers’ horrendous recent form, Anthony Davis dismissed it as an excuse. He said:
“We’re not executing. (Miami) played harder than us tonight, executed better than us tonight, were a little more physical than us tonight. We got outworked tonight.”
Davis even exposed Ham’s injury excuse by revealing the coach had faith in the team before the loss to Miami. He said:
“Guys being out is not an excuse. There’s no excuses for us. Like coach said (pregame), we got enough in this locker room to win, but we have to come out and compete.”
Austin Reaves reiterated Anthony’s sentiment in the post-game press conference, dismissing his coach’s injury excuse. He said:
“We can’t use [injuries] as an excuse regardless of what the lineup is, what change is. Whatever happens. We have to be better as a team and go win games. We’re more than talented enough to win games. We have enough depth. We have enough skill.”
The Lakers’ players are doing their part in confirming Charania’s report. Davis and Reaves with their words, LeBron James with his untimely exit, and Maxwell Lewis with his social media activity. The writing is seemingly on the wall for Ham. If the Lakers’ current three-game skid grows, the Lakers might soon be hunting for a new head coach to lead the team.
Last season, Ham led the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals, where they were swept by the Denver Nuggets. While it was an impressive feat, considering they were 27-32 before the All-Star break, the Lakers have a more well-rounded roster this season, and their current record doesn’t reflect the roster strength. Ham is well and truly on the hot seat.
