According to NBA insider Anthony F. Irwin of Lakers Lounge, people close to the Los Angeles Lakers believe the season can be turned around by firing head coach Darvin Ham.
NBA insiders Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported in January that there was a deepening disconnect between Ham and the Lakers locker room.
The Lakers are only 24-25 on the season. They are in ninth place in the West. Ham’s group is 14th in the NBA in points per game and 20th in points per game allowed.
Ham’s rotations and playcalling have been poor this season. He refuses to start D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt, LeBron James and Anthony Davis despite that group being the team’s best five-man lineup. Ham has played Taurean Prince too many minutes despite Prince having a plus-minus of -161 this season.
Ham raised eyebrows in the Lakers organization when he started LeBron, Cam Reddish, Prince, Vanderbilt and Davis on December 23 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. That starting lineup was really poor and Ham is now starting Russell, Reaves, Prince, LeBron and Davis.
NBA insider Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report reported on January 12 that the Lakers are not expected to fire Ham this season. After the report from The Athletic came out about the disconnect between Ham and the players, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss sent Ham a supportive text, per NBA reporter Sam Amick of The Athletic.
The Lakers face the Boston Celtics tonight in Boston. Both LeBron and Davis will not play, so the Celtics will win easily, dropping Ham and Co. to 24-26.
LAL reached the Western Conference Finals last season after starting 2-10. The lineup of Russell, Reaves, Vanderbilt, LeBron and Davis was very effective, but Ham continues to not start games with that fivesome this season.
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