Tag: Darvin Ham

Darvin Ham: Lakers have to keep playing up-tempo

Darvin Ham wants the Lakers to stick to their “Showtime” style and identity as they try to make their series versus the Nuggets competitive.

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered an epic meltdown in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets on Monday. They had a 20-point lead in the third quarter, and it looked like they were well on their way to tying the series.

But they went away from what got them the lead. One of the many reasons they gave up their lead was the fact that they walked the ball upcourt on a consistent basis instead of playing fast-break basketball, which is the style they’re most effective playing.

Head coach Darvin Ham recognized this and said Los Angeles has to keep playing fast and with urgency.

Via Lakers Nation:

“The pace has to continue,” Ham said. “You build a lead, you can’t go to playing slow and try to play the clock game. Just have to stay aggressive, stay organized, understand where you’re trying to go with the ball, be aggressive to the paint, things we’ve been preaching all year. But to slow down and they’re gaining the momentum now just because you’re slow, we’re out of rhythm. So we just got to figure out a way to maintain pace.”

During the regular season, L.A. was fourth in pace and third in fast-break points. When it has been successful, it has done so by turning good defense into points either on the fast break or in early offense.

But during the LeBron James era, it has gotten into trouble when it has walked the ball upcourt and milked the shot clock. It is something James and his teammates have often been guilty of, especially in the second halves of games.

Darvin Ham may return as Lakers head coach despite 0-2 series hole versus Nuggets

It looks like Darvin Ham’s job as Lakers head coach may be safe regardless of how their series versus the Nuggets turns out.

The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves between a rock and a hard place after the first two games of their first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets. They blew double-digit leads in both contests, and they’re down 2-0 in the series as it heads to Southern California.

In a literal sense, one may think the Lakers are very capable of winning the next two games and making it a brand-new series. But in a real sense, they haven’t shown any proof they’re capable of winning even one game against the defending NBA champs.

Los Angeles’ Game 2 collapse was one of the worst in the franchise’s storied legacy and, quite honestly, one of the worst in the entire history of the NBA playoffs. Many are pointing the finger at head coach Darvin Ham, and the calls for him to be fired have grown louder and louder.

Therefore, most Lakers fans will not like what team insider Anthony Irwin wrote on his Substack. According to him, Ham will likely be back next season as the team’s head coach.

Via Substack:

“Their most pressing question, depending on the outcome and length of this series, is Darvin Ham’s future, and sources say, the Lakers remain very split on the job he’s done,” wrote Irwin.

“In fact, in asking around the last couple weeks heading into the play-in and playoffs, most people I’ve spoken to believe Ham will be back.”

It looks like the desire to keep Ham in place is coming from the top.

“All season, as reports circled about the job Ham has done and how the locker room felt about the rotation choices he made, his handling of in-game situations and overall ability to communicate his vision to the team, (Rob) Pelinka and Jeanie Buss have maintained steadfast support of their head coach.”

According to Irwin, the excuses for wanting to keep Ham include the injuries L.A. has had to key role players this season, the financial implications of having to pay Ham after he loses his job and his successor at the same time and the fact Ham is still a young and developing head coach.

After all, the team made the Western Conference finals last year, and perhaps Ham deserves some credit for that, despite all his flaws and deficiencies.

However, assuming LeBron James sticks around past this season, the Lakers will remain in win-now mode. That would make it hard to justify keeping a head coach who is either not ready to take his team to the promised land or will never become such a leader.

On the other hand, many Lakers fans believe the team’s front office is poorly run these days.

Darvin Ham responds to Anthony Davis’ comment after Lakers’ Game 2 loss

Darvin Ham didn’t seem to agree with Anthony Davis’ comment that the Lakers don’t know what they’re doing at times.

The Los Angeles Lakers had their hearts broken in Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets when they blew a 20-point lead and lost on a Jamal Murray jumper at the final horn.

Although they complained about the officiating and perhaps had a legitimate reason to do so, they have only themselves to blame. They ran their offense very well for two-and-a-half quarters, only to slow to a crawl and get away from the actions that produced that big lead.

Afterward, Anthony Davis said that the Lakers have stretches where they don’t know what they’re doing on both ends of the floor. It almost sounded like a veiled shot at head coach Darvin Ham.

Ham responded to that comment on Wednesday.

Via ESPN:

“I mean, I just think sometimes when plays don’t turn out the way you think they should, then the frustration sets in a little bit,” Ham said. “But I don’t think it’s (from) us not being organized. I think I have incredibly talented coaches all along my staff. We pride ourselves, whether it’s a practice, a shootaround, a film session, a game or whatever, we pride ourselves on being highly efficient and organized. I just chalk that up to being frustrated. It’s an emotional game, the way it ended and all of that.

“But I’ll agree to disagree on that one.”

Game 2 was the third straight playoff game in which Los Angeles blew a double-digit lead and lost to the Nuggets. If it is to make this series competitive, it will have to discover something from within that it hasn’t displayed to this point, especially against the defending NBA champs, who have beaten it 10 straight times now.

A look at how Darvin Ham’s offense failed the Lakers in Game 2

The Lakers beat themselves in their Game 2 loss to the Nuggets, especially on offense, and perhaps head coach Darvin Ham is to blame.

Since the Los Angeles Lakers started struggling in earnest in December, a large number of fans pointed the finger at head coach Darvin Ham and practically begged for him to be fired.

At the time, he was still a young head coach looking to grow into himself. He had gotten the Lakers to overcome a poor start to reach the Western Conference finals last season. This year, they won 28 of their last 42 games in the regular season, and appeared to be surging again.

But now, they’re staring at a total playoff collapse after blowing double-digit leads and losing both of the first two games of their first-round series versus the Denver Nuggets. In both games, they abandoned what had gotten them the lead, especially offensively, as time went on.

Los Angeles’ execution was abysmal late in Game 2 on Monday. Even though it ranked very high in several offensive categories after the All-Star break, many people have pointed out that Ham’s offense simply wasn’t anything special.

There were numerous instances of poor execution and incorrect reads on Monday, and the video below from YouTube user Awful Coaching breaks down just some of them.

When a team doesn’t execute its offense properly or effectively, it is the job of its coaching staff to point it out and hold its players accountable during a game. Perhaps that isn’t happening right now for the Lakers.

Although there have been reports suggesting Ham could be fired this offseason if the Lakers were to close the season out poorly, it is unknown if his job will truly be in jeopardy if they lose this series in four or five games. But he certainly seems to be making the case for his dismissal so far, far more than he did at midseason when they were struggling.

Did Anthony Davis take a shot at Darvin Ham after the Lakers’ Game 2 loss?

Anthony Davis made a curious comment after the Lakers’ heartbreaking Game 2 loss to the Nuggets that has to make one wonder.

For long stretches, the Los Angeles Lakers can be a very good team that is capable of beating any other in the NBA. The problem is they don’t stick to their identity or what gets them a lead.

Inconsistency has been a problem all season. It reared its ugly head more than at any time before in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets on Monday.

Los Angeles took a 20-point lead in the third quarter, and it looked like the team had a great chance of tying the series. It had success running the pick-and-roll with Anthony Davis as the screener in the first half, but it inexplicably stopped running that sequence for most of the second half.

As a result, the Lakers scored just 40 points after halftime and saw their lead gradually dwindle until it disappeared completely on Jamal Murray’s game-winning jumper at the buzzer.

Davis said afterward that sometimes his team doesn’t know what it is doing — at both ends of the floor.

One has to wonder if this was a veiled criticism of Lakers head coach Darvin Ham.

Ham has been criticized all season by fans, especially as the team has lacked offensive ball and player movement down the stretch of games, as well as counters for adjustments made by opponents.

Championship teams keep doing what gets them leads until it doesn’t work anymore. These Lakers right now have a sizable performance gap because of their inconsistent execution.

Right now, they’re down 2-0 to the defending NBA champion Nuggets, and they haven’t given fans any reason to have faith they will win even one game, let alone make the series competitive.

Darvin Ham on how Lakers can improve in crunch time vs. Nuggets

Many of the Lakers’ eight straight losses to the Nuggets have been close, and head coach Darvin Ham said a couple things need to improve.

The Los Angeles Lakers have lost each of their last eight games against the Denver Nuggets going back about 15 months. While on the surface, it may make it seem as if the Nuggets have dominated them during that time period, that isn’t necessarily the case.

Five of those eight contests were competitive until the fourth quarter, when Denver pulled away thanks to a decisive surge. During those surges, the Lakers looked almost helpless, as they couldn’t get stops to save their lives or execute anything with movement or ingenuity on offense.

They will try to do something to change that trend when they open the playoffs against those same Nuggets on Saturday.

Head coach Darvin Ham talked about these deficiencies and what needs to change if Los Angeles is going to have any chance of defeating the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.

Via Los Angeles Times:

“It’s a combination of a couple different things. That’s why I mentioned consistent discipline with our execution, make sure we get the right shots that we know makes us that much more hard to guard,” Ham said of the late-game problems. “And give them credit. They had different guys step up and make big shots for them. We’ve had unfortunate turnovers, unfortunate missed blockouts. And they’re a championship team. So, you have to do the little things.

“The intangibles have to be on point.”

It seems like a lot will have to change for the Purple and Gold if they are to avenge their sweep at the hands of Denver in last year’s Western Conference Finals. But perhaps simply playing better in the fourth quarter would be enough to swing things in their favor.

The Darvin Ham lineup move that hurt the Lakers more than any other

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has gotten lots of criticism for his lineup choices, but one may have sabotaged the first half of the season.

In mid-January, the Los Angeles Lakers were sputtering. They held a mediocre 19-21 record, and they had lost 12 of their last 17 games. As a result, there was a real chance at the time that they wouldn’t even make the play-in tournament.

But since then, they have won 29 of 43 games, including Tuesday’s play-in tournament contest against the New Orleans Pelicans. Head coach Darvin Ham’s decision to move forward Rui Hachimura into the starting lineup is one thing that sparked L.A.’s turnaround.

Ham deserves credit for giving Hachimura the nod in the starting lineup. However, before that, he started Cam Reddish in 26 of the team’s first 40 games, and he deserves criticism for that decision.

Reddish, a former lottery pick in 2018, can now be called a certified bust. He finished the regular season shooting just 38.9% from the field and 33.6% from 3-point range, and although he can apply ball pressure at times on defense, he cannot be called a good overall defender.

Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report called the decision to start Reddish the Lakers’ biggest regret of the season.

Via Bleacher Report:

“It may not be a coincidence that L.A.’s season took off when the Duke [University] product wasn’t such a big part of it.

“Reddish started 26 of the first 33 games he played, averaging 23.6 minutes through Jan. 13, the date of his last first-unit appearance. At that cutoff, the Lakers were 19-21 with a minus-0.9 net rating overall and a minus-2.0 with the 24-year-old on the floor. Remember, that number came with him playing mostly alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

“Since then, with Reddish missing time due to injury and playing a drastically reduced role when healthy, the Lakers went 28-14 and posted a plus-2.8 net rating. Rui Hachimura, who eventually took over for Reddish in the first unit, has been a two-way key to L.A.’s second-half surge.”

With Hachimura in the starting five, the Lakers not only played well, but they became a near-elite offensive team, at least in terms of production. In fact, after the All-Star break, they ranked fourth in offensive rating, third in points per game, second in field-goal percentage and first in free throw attempts per game.

Los Angeles even ranked third in 3-point accuracy following the All-Star break, thanks in part to Hachimura making 42.2% of his 3-point attempts on the season. By contrast, in October, November and December, it ranked 28th, 23rd and 18th, respectively, in 3-point shooting percentage.

One could say that Ham starting Reddish for 26 games sabotaged the first half of the season for the Lakers.

One Western Conference assistant coach is puzzled by Ham’s decision to stick with Reddish in the starting lineup for so long and even called it “stubborn.”

Via Heavy Sports:

“It was always a little strange that they stuck with him, even to the point of it being stubborn for Darvin to keep running him out there,” the assistant coach said. “It’s a situation where it was almost like the front office was set on giving him a half season and then deciding to make the change. Someone was being very stubborn with it. Because once the decision was made to pull him, that was it—he got hurt, and he did not come back.”

With the return of guard Gabe Vincent, who played well on Tuesday, and the midseason addition of Spencer Dinwiddie, there simply isn’t any room in the Lakers’ rotation for someone such as Reddish who is, at best, a slightly above-average defender and a negative on the offensive end.

Darvin Ham gives confident message ahead of series versus Nuggets

The Lakers will open the 2024 NBA playoffs against the defending world champion Nuggets, and head coach Darvin Ham sounds optimistic.

By defeating the New Orleans Pelicans, 110-106, on Tuesday in the play-in tournament, the Los Angeles Lakers clinched the seventh seed in the Western Conference and a playoff spot. That means they will open the playoffs against the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Saturday.

The Lakers have lost eight straight games to Nikola Jokic and crew dating to last January. It seems like a nightmare matchup for them this early, but there is also an argument to be made that perhaps their best shot at beating Denver would come now rather than later in the postseason.

Head coach Darvin Ham said after Tuesday’s game that it’s “back to 0-0” and that the team likes where it is right now (at 6:39).

Los Angeles, of course, was swept in last season’s Western Conference finals by the Nuggets and hasn’t beaten them since Dec. 16, 2022. But LeBron James is healthier than he was a year ago, and the team overall seems to have a higher level of chemistry and cohesion, especially on the offensive end.

Darvin Ham responds to those who said Lakers should’ve tanked vs. Pelicans

Darvin Ham threw shade at those who felt the Lakers should’ve tanked against the Pelicans to avoid a first-round matchup versus the Nuggets.

Coming into Tuesday’s play-in tournament game between the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans, some said the Lakers should’ve tanked the contest to get a more favorable first-round playoff matchup.

Instead of facing the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets in the first round, a loss on Tuesday would’ve meant a second play-in game on Friday against either the Golden State Warriors or Sacramento Kings. A win there would’ve given L.A. the eighth seed and a first-round date with the eminently beatable Oklahoma City Thunder.

But tanking on Tuesday would’ve been foolish and very risky, especially given how much the Lakers have struggled all year versus both the Warriors and Kings.

Instead, they took care of New Orleans, 110-106, on Tuesday to secure a playoff matchup against Denver, which will begin on Saturday.

Afterward, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham took a shot at those who said the team should’ve lost on purpose to have a shot at playing the Thunder instead in the playoffs.

If L.A. is to win it all this year, it will have to beat the Nuggets at some point along the way. Perhaps it is better for the team to face them, as it has won 12 of its last 15 games and, other than Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood, is healthy enough.

Report: Lakers players wanted head coach Darvin Ham fired earlier this season

The issues Lakers players have had with head coach Darvin Ham may have been more serious than they have seemed to be.

The Los Angeles Lakers have dealt with spurts of disappointing play this season. They started the year 3-5, and although they won 11 of their next 15 games, they then went through a horrible slump for much of December and into early January.

By mid-January, Los Angeles was 19-21, which was a far cry from the expectations many had for it when the season started. As a result, head coach Darvin Ham was made into the scapegoat by fans, many of whom attacked him on social media and practically begged for him to be fired.

It looks like fans weren’t the only ones who wanted Ham gone. According to a report, players on the team also wanted him to be shown the door.

Via Hoops Wire:

“A source told Hoops Wire that Lakers players wanted assistant coach Phil Handy to replace Ham earlier in the season,” wrote Ashish Mathur. “However, Los Angeles owner Jeanie Buss is a fan of Ham, and she has never thought about firing him as coach, the source said.

“LeBron (James), arguably the greatest player in NBA history, has ignored Ham in many huddles this season and communicated with Handy instead on what the Lakers should run, the source said.”

Mathur also named Anthony Davis and forward Rui Hachimura as two players who are down on Ham.

There was at least one report earlier this season about how Lakers players were unhappy about Ham’s coaching. In fact, according to some sources, if the team doesn’t make the playoffs this season, his job may not be safe this summer.

After recently winning nine of 10 games, the Lakers have lost two in a row, at least partly due to James and Davis being compromised by health issues. They’re clinging to ninth place in the Western Conference and are just half a game ahead of the 10th-place Golden State Warriors.