“Near Impossible”: Darvin Ham Gives 1 Major Reason for Current Lakers Roster’s Constant Struggles in Practice

Just when everyone thought the Los Angeles Lakers had found their rhythm again, winning two straight games against the OKC Thunder and Dallas Mavericks, the team bit the dust. After starting the game strong with a six-point lead, the Lakers went ice-cold in the second half as the resurgent Brooklyn Nets outscored them by 24 points. With the loss, the Lakers are once again under .500 and have put their play-in participation chances in jeopardy.

After the stinging 112-130 loss to the Nets, head coach Darvin Ham sat down to talk to the media. When asked about the Lakers’ inability to stay consistent since winning the inaugural in-season tournament, Ham shed light on the roster’s recent struggles with practice. “It’s tough, man, when you’re managing bodies that have injuries or you know some hurt spots and some sore spots, so it makes it damn near impossible to have a practice. It definitely affects your shootarounds,” stated Darvin Ham.

The Lakers have not won more than two games in a row since early December. After winning the NBA Cup, they have managed to string together seven wins in 20 matches. Injuries undeniably have a part to play as well. After advancing to the Western Conference Finals last season and making a number of well-regarded moves the following offseason, the Lakers haven’t been able to harness the full potential of their roster.

Forwards Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, and Cam Reddish have all missed decent chunks of time at different points throughout the season. As a result, the team has had difficulty settling on a rotation. The consistent lineup changes have also impacted the team’s cohesion. And as the season progresses, the Lakers’ woes do not seem to end.

The tall tale of worries for the Lakers

However, while all of the above are valid reasons, one cannot ignore the fact that the team still has LeBron James and Anthony Davis playing full minutes on the floor. While every team deals with injuries, the Lakers’ performance has also shown a steep decline since last season.

Even with James and Davis healthy, the Lakers are currently 22nd in the league in offensive rating (112.5) and 18th in points per game (114.3). Furthermore, they rank only better than the worst-seeded Detroit Pistons in the percentage of three-pointers. They rank 28th in three-pointers made (30.5), nearly a 14-point difference against a good shooting team like the Boston Celtics. While they have never been great offensively (19th last season), they have always relied on their defense to take care of business.

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This season, even their defense looks wonky. The Lakers, who were the third-best team in defense the year they won their 17th championship, are now 14th in defensive rating. The reason Ham was turning to defense-heavy lineups earlier. Now that we have crossed the halfway mark of the season, it is high time the Lakers address the issues within the team and take inspired action before the season slips out of their reach. As Ham says, “It’s over for the excuses man, we gotta play basketball.”

Do you think the Lakers can turn their season around? Let us know in the comments!

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