The Los Angeles Lakers continue to spiral downward. Despite taking a 13-point lead in the first half of Friday’s game versus the Memphis Grizzlies, they came apart at the seams down the stretch and lost, 127-113, to one of the NBA’s worst offensive teams.
They have lost 10 of their last 13 games, and they’re in 11th place in the Western Conference with a 17-19 record. If the regular season ended today, they would not make the play-in tournament.
With each additional loss, the calls to fire head coach Darvin Ham grow louder.
Although there had been no indication that Ham’s job is actually in jeopardy, that could be changing. According to Anthony Irwin, Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers will be crucial for Ham (h/t Lakers Daily).
I’d still be pretty surprised if Ham was fired midseason, let alone this weekend, but between how the locker room feels about him, recent results, and his own comments, things feel pretty damn dire. A blowout Sunday with more showers of boos would be impossible for the…
— Anthony F. Irwin (@AnthonyIrwinLA) January 6, 2024
It is very hard to imagine the Lakers beating the Clippers right now. The Clippers have been surging. They have a five-game winning streak and have won 14 of their last 16 contests, which has propelled them into fourth place in the Western Conference.