With the latest injury update on LeBron James being that he is progressing and beginning on-court activities, Darvin Ham and the Los Angeles Lakers have to take it one game at a time before their superstar returns in order to remain in the playoff picture.
It is no secret that L.A. is missing the king-sized shoes only the four-time NBA champion can fill. However, even though James is out and sitting on the bench in street clothes, he has turned into another coach and maintained his leadership without putting on a jersey.
Ahead of Wednesday’s primetime victory against the Phoenix Suns, Ham discussed what it is like to have James as another coach on the bench while he is out.
“Just talking through different matchups, different guys, giving guys opportunities, throwing me a couple of nice ATOs to draw up in the huddle. It’s been great,” Ham said.
“He’s just been engaged and really talking through the mentality of how time is of the essence, there’s only 10 games left and we really got to push through and try to make this thing happen. So just his presence, at shootarounds, even though he’s not able to participate physically, just his presence being around and talking to the guys, giving them confidence, building them up and helping us out as a coaching staff with things that he sees.”
With a legendary mind like James, his impact on the court still exists even though he is not suited up. The leadership, coaching and mentoring of his younger Lakers teammates has been on display in the recent success with James sidelined, with him notably pulling rookie Max Christie aside multiple times to talk through stuff with him.
Until James returns to the lineup, the purple and gold can still have him as a voice of reason and assistance on the sidelines, which is great to see with all of these games being so crucial.
Ham says Lakers will move Davis around to get more touches
As the Lakers are hunting to be in the playoff picture, the fanbase recognizes that whether or not L.A. makes the postseason starts and ends with Anthony Davis.
The past couple of games for Davis have been somewhat lackluster, not featuring his ability to take his opponent one-on-one and take over the game when he needs to.
After several games where the opposing defense has defended Davis with great low-post coverages, Ham stated that he would move Davis around to try and get him more touches throughout the game.
That plan worked well against Phoenix as Davis had a monster third quarter with 14 points and finished with 27 total to lead the Lakers to a big victory.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
