Ever since they won the first NBA in-season tournament, the Los Angeles Lakers have lost nine of 12 games, and with a 17-18 record, they’re out of excuses.
Sure, they have had a continuous string of injuries that have stunted their growth and development as a unit. But none of those injuries have been serious enough to seriously dent their record or overall performance.
At this point, most feel the blame falls on either the Lakers’ players or on Darvin Ham, their head coach. On social media, fans continue to practically beg for Ham to be fired.
Reportedly, relations between Ham and his players aren’t copacetic right now (h/t Lakers Daily).
Via The Athletic:
“Following their ninth loss in 12 games, the Los Angeles Lakers have hit a new nadir in their season, amplifying concerns about the direction of the season from both inside and outside the organization,” Shams Charania and Jovan Buha wrote.
“There’s currently a deepening disconnect between Darvin Ham and the Lakers locker room, six sources with direct knowledge of the situation say, raising questions about the head coach’s standing. The people spoke with The Athletic on condition of anonymity so that they could speak freely on the matter. Those sources have described that the disjointedness between the coach and team has stemmed from the extreme rotation and starting lineup adjustments recently from Ham, leading to a fluctuating rhythm for several players across the roster.”
The Lakers suffered a dissonant 110-96 loss to the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat on Wednesday in which they shot just 42.2% overall and 4-of-30 from 3-point range while committing 21 turnovers. It was the latest embarrassing loss in a season that is starting to fill up with such losses.
Right now, it’s hard to tell if Ham is truly on the hot seat, despite how the majority of Lakers fans seem to feel about him.
