Thanks to injuries and other struggles on the court, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has had to trot out numerous different starting lineups this season, as well as constantly changing rotations to try and find something that works.
One thing that worked down the stretch last year was the team’s starting lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Austin Reaves surrounding LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
But that lineup hasn’t been seen much this season, largely due to injuries. Vanderbilt has played in just 14 games this season due to a heel injury while Russell is currently out due to a bruised tailbone. But with the Lakers continued struggles, Ham is not ruling out any possibility in terms of lineups, including last season’s starters.
“Absolutely, I think everything is on the table that makes sense,” Ham said following the Lakers’ recent loss to the Miami Heat. “And you know again, we’ll look at it, and hopefully, we get DLo back pretty soon, and that’s something we could definitely see ourselves doing at some point but again, like DLo was in street clothes tonight. So, yeah, that totally makes sense. And then various other guys within that mix have been hurt.
“Obviously, Austin [Reaves] has been available. Bron, AD have been available, but those other two guys have been in and out a little bit. DLo has actually played a ton of games for us and been there and just for the sake of balance trying to bring him off the bench has been good but yeah, definitely, man. Whatever makes sense. Like I said, we’re here to explore. No stone shall go unturned. We are here to explore whatever we can to right the ship.”
With rumors beginning to circulate that Ham could be on the hot seat, it makes sense that he is willing to try anything to get the Lakers back on track. He is right in that there hasn’t been much of an opportunity to go with that group, especially as Vanderbilt has struggled to find his footing and make that same impact he had last season.
Just because that group worked last season doesn’t automatically mean they will have that same success this year, but Ham and the Lakers coaches must figure out a rotation and stick to it in order to finally begin building some continuity within this roster.
Pressure ‘clearly being applied’ by Lakers on Darvin Ham to turn things around
It is unclear just how hot the hot seat of Darvin Ham is at this moment, but it sounds as if the Lakers aren’t at the point in which they are looking to get rid of their head coach just yet.
But the franchise is apparently applying some pressure on Ham according to a recent report. The report states that the Lakers pushed back on the idea that Ham is on the verge of being fired, however the organization is apparently applying pressure on the head coach to turn things around.
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