Things are not improving for the Los Angeles Lakers and head coach Darvin Ham as they have fallen below .500 again after Tuesday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
In a back-to-back scenario, Anthony Davis received the night off after aggravating his groin in L.A.’s loss to the Houston Rockets the night prior. It seemed the lack of energy and effort carried over into both games, in particular on the defensive end.
The struggles can affect the morale of players and some controversy was sparked when Christian Wood tweeted “Lol” after the starting lineup was revealed on Tuesday and he was not in it despite Davis not playing.
The tweet was brought to Ham’s attention after the game and he responded, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I’m not on social media and I don’t have everybody running and grabbing hold of stuff like that and throwing it at me unless it’s presented to me in this forum. That said, it’s a lot of things he and all of us can do better. I thought he was solid overall tonight, tried to help give us a chance. We decided to keep him in his role where he’s been for some time and to give [Jaxson Hayes] an opportunity to come out with the energy he played with last night. Give him a chance to come out and try to help us in that manner. So we’re constantly looking for balance with our lineup, it’s not a popularity contest. We’re looking at how to mix and match our players that will be most effective in helping us get a win.”
Wood maintained that his tweet was not basketball-related, but Ham needs to ensure this behavior does not persist. Whether it was a reaction to the starters or not, it negatively impacts the team and makes things a bit dicey in the locker room.
While vibes have been up and down for this Lakers team, these rough patches truly test the mental state of players and coaches. If incidents like this persist, it could make these struggles even worse as it shows that Ham does not have control of the locker room.
When Wood signed with L.A. before the season, he mentioned his relationship with Ham as a factor in signing with the purple and gold. Winning seems to cure all, but that has not been frequent enough and the camaraderie of this team is dwindling.
Darvin Ham: Lakers must give ‘more resistance defensively’ to start each half
In five out of the last six games, L.A. has given up at least 126 points, which is far from ideal for a team that is supposed to take pride in their defense. Ham emphasizes that the Lakers must give ‘more resistance defensively’ to start each half, which has not happened as of late.
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