The Lakers are all set to meet Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on the court on February 26th. Darvin Ham and his squad understand the challenges of playing the new-look Mavericks. They have become a force to reckon with since Kyrie Irving was traded to the team. With Doncic already a lethal force, the addition of Irving makes the Mavs even more fearsome.
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Darvin Ham is aware of this threat. In a recent interview with Spectrum Sports, Darvin Ham listed out what makes Luka so lethal and why guarding him is gonna be so difficult. Ham also weighed his defensive options against their upcoming rivals and how Jarred Vanderbilt may not be enough to guard Luka Doncic.
Darvin Ham weighs his defensive options against Luka Doncic
The Lakers’ head coach has overseen an overhaul in his roster recently. The gold and purples were fortunate enough to acquire some decent shooters and defensive players. However, Ham knows they still don’t have any player in the squad who can appropriately guard the 6ft 7″ point guard. While speaking to Spectrum Sports, Ham emphasized Luka’s abilities and how no single player can guard him.
Ham: “He’s gonna spread you out, man. [We] gotta pray. That’s [Luka Doncic] is a hell of a two-headed monster. Luka was already a damn handful, two handfuls, and now you gonna get Kyrie.” He continued: “We are up for the challenge. We feel good about what we have added, the matchup we can provide them. You know it’s not just him on the offense the entire time, they gotta play a little defense against us too.” Ham further discussed Jarred Vanderbilt’s role against Luka: “He’s not gonna be the only one that we throw in front of him. He’s just gonna lead the charge. He’ll be the initial defender on him but there’s no one man in the NBA that gets a stop and shuts a particular player down.”
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 25, 2023
Ham’s strategy depends on putting pressure on Doncic early on
Ham is of course right with his strategy. Doncic is not a player just Vanderbilt can shut down on his own. The 6ft 9″ power forward certainly has a height advantage on Doncic but that has rarely stopped him in the past. With Kyrie’s addition to the roster, double-teaming Luka when Irving is on the floor will be impossible. They will need two defenders constantly sticking to these two superstars.
The Lakers coach wants to put Vanderbilt on Luka Doncic to slow the Slovenian down early on in the game. If the Lakers can manage to get a big lead early on, then the game will become far easier to traverse.
