The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a big win over their Crypto.Com Arena neighbors the Los Angeles Clippers. The win ended a four-game losing streak for a team that’s lost 11 of their past fourteen games since winning the inaugural in-season tournament.
Lakers players and coaches are hoping Sunday’s win can catapult them into a string of wins. During the team’s struggles there have been rumors about head Cody Darvin Ham’s job security.
When you’re the coach of the Lakers and LeBron James is on the team it’s never an easy feat, but Ham, who recently said that he has the backing of the team’s front office, seems unbothered by the chatter.
Now, either Ham is putting on a front or he really isn’t bothered by the noise. One coach who knows the pressure that comes with coaching a LeBron James-led team is Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue, and the NBA championship-winning coach chimed on what’s going on across the hall in Tinseltown.
Lue Has Been In Ham’s Shoes
After leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to an improbable 2016 title, becoming the only team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in NBA Finals history, Lue was fired after an (0-6) start to begin the 2018 season.
Lue even faced some scrutiny this season after the team lost its first five games after trading for James Harden in November. They’ve since won 14 of their past 17 as the team seems to have figured out their roles.
In speaking with the media in the aftermath of his team’s 106-103 loss to the Lakers, Lue sided with Ham.
“It’s definitely unfair,” Lue said of the blame Ham is receiving. “We said the same thing last season when they were 2-10. And they went to the conference finals. Are you giving the coach all the credit for that? I don’t think so.”
Facts being spoken by Lue, who knows how hard it is to keep everyone happy. But, in retrospect he’s definitely right about the Lakers’ shocking turnaround last season and how Ham didn’t get all the credit for their run, so why should he take all the blame for their struggles.
Roster Makeup Is A Huge Issue
In the offseason the Lakers attempted to add some wing defenders, some bigs and even a point guard. But, what they didn’t add was knockdown shooting, something that plagued them last season. In 2022-23 they ranked 27th in three-point percentage as a team (34.4 percent), and this season they’re not much better at (35 percent) which is 26th.
That’s a recipe for disaster when you consider that James and Anthony Davis need shooting around them to give them room to operate and attack the rim. While they do have three players shooting at least 38 percent from deep, including James, they’re a streaky three-point shooting team at best.
In a league that’s about pace and space and three-point shooting, they just don’t do it well enough.
Yes, Ham could be better with his lineup substitutions and things of that nature, but this team being 18-19 right now is hardly all his fault.
