Darvin Ham faced the media after the Lakers fell to a 107-12 loss to the Nuggets in Game 3, extending their playoff deficit to 0-3 in their 11th straight loss to the Nuggets since 2022. Ham chalked the loss up to a bad shooting night.
“The point-blank shots where guys who are off are missing shots they normally make, and that’s the way the game goes. It’s a make-or-miss league. When you can't get a bucket and they're scoring on a run, it's tough. But we have to keep the scoreboard moving.”
There's always a reason why the Lakers lost. At some point, someone on the Lakers coaching staff should admit that the Nuggets are coaching circles around them. The consistency with which the Nuggets execute is remarkable and is an extreme credit to the coaching of the team.
Darvin Ham has given really unsatisfying answers about the Lakers' struggles throughout this series. From blaming referee calls to openly admitting he doesn't know how to stop Nikola Jokic, it's clear to see that the coach is out of his depth when it comes to matching up with coach Malone and the Nuggets.
The players are an entirely different conversation as well, as the Lakers role-players are far too streaky and inconsistent for them to be realistic contenders. D'Angelo Russell had a 20-point pouting in Game 2 just to lay a goose egg tonight, while the overall team rotation scored just 22 points as a collective outside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Austin Reaves.
The Lakers Coaching Staff Doesn't Want To Be Held Accountable
Anthony Davis came out after Game 2 to criticize the Lakers for playing basketball without a plan as they lost a 20-point lead in the second half of the game.
"Just got to focus on Game 3, we shown that we are more than capable. We have stretches where we just don't know what we're doing on both ends of the floor and those the ones that cost us. So, we got two days to get it right and come ready to win Game 3 (on) Thursday."
After Darvin Ham publicly disagreed with Davis' comments, an insider reported that the organization was not happy about Davis saying what he said and putting Ham on blast.
"From speaking with people within the Lakers' organization, they were upset and disappointed quite frankly by AD's comments and publicly putting his coach out there like that especially since the Lakers had a good enough understanding of the gameplan to take a 20-point lead."
Given the Lakers reportedly want to keep Ham for another season regardless of the outcome of this series, it makes sense why the organization doesn't want the franchise player to trash the head coach. However, it's becoming inarguable that keeping Ham around might be a silly move given how outclassed he looks when facing elite coaches.
The Lakers wanting to protect Ham when he's clearly losing his roster makes little sense. If they can somehow avoid a sweep, Ham possibly could save his job but regardless of the outcome, it looks like he isn't the right coach for this team anymore.
More must-reads: