Gilbert Arenas recently broke down the problems of the Los Angeles Lakers using their recent home game against the Phoenix Suns as a reference. He jokingly mentioned how the NBA referees had been contributing more to the team’s offense than a few of its players while analyzing the plays. In the process, Arenas even demanded Darvin Ham to provide LeBron James and Anthony Davis with more shooters.
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The 3x All-Star captured the Lakers’ opening play of the second quarter to highlight the issues with their setup. “You got two non-shooters in the corner. You got [Jarred] Vanderbilt who can’t shoot. You got Cam [Reddish] over there who can’t shoot,” he mentioned. The gameplay frustrated Arenas as a viewer as he mockingly stated, “The damn referees is playing more offense than the goddamn Lakers corner guys”.
Later, he uploaded the analysis on X (formerly Twitter), sharing his thoughts with the rest of the basketball community. With the caption, “Lakers got too much atmosphere on the court. Darvin Ham give LeBron and AD some shooters so they can space the floor!” it openly addressed the struggles of the roster.
Despite the seeming harshness, the straightforward approach from Arenas truly shed light on the shortcomings of the team. Taurean Prince has been the best deep shooter on the team, scoring 82 threes from a three-point percentage of 39.2%. Yet, this shooting percentage only ranks him 62nd in the league, adding volume to his former player’s words.
Alongside that, the Lakers are the second-worst team in the entire league when it comes to capitalizing from corner three-pointers. Their 34.6% field goal made from those areas on the court ranks them 29th in the NBA. Thus, Arenas was right to address the placement of non-shooters in the corners as it hampered the overall output of the team.
It further justified the frustration of the supporters towards the head coach Ham following their subpar displays. Amidst the ongoing tension between the two parties, the organization allegedly kept its faith in the 50-year-old. “I speak to Rob every day, and we’re always discussing ways to improve our team,” Coach Ham recently also mentioned. Despite the sign of trust, Arenas’ concerns remain nonnegligible.
This was not the first time Gilbert Arenas shed light on the Los Angeles Lakers’ problems
Arenas had called out the head coach several times because of his antics this season from his show, Gil’s Arena. One such instance took place a week ago when he raised question marks over Ham’s ability to coach the roster. “As long as they have on this team, that motherf****r with the bald head and the bump [Ham] gonna keep putting their a**es in the game,” he mentioned on the occasion.
Despite the chip on his shoulders, the head coach highlighted a different perspective on the matter. “I’m tired of people living and dying with every single game we play,” he recently mentioned in the post-match conference. “Come on man, this is a marathon,” Ham mentioned, sharing his thoughts.
Thus, the ongoing criticism seems to not affect the determination of the in-season tournament-winning coach. At the same time, Arenas continues to serve as the voice of the Lakers fans. With both parties staying true to their beliefs the future could become an entertaining one for the NBA.
