The Los Angeles Lakers threw away a 20-point lead and lost to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their first-round series and after the clash, Anthony Davis threw his head coach Darvin Ham under the bus. Davis was asked how the Lakers can extend this series after going down 0-2 and the 31-year-old revealed an issue they need to sort out.
“Just got to focus on Game 3, we shown that we more than capable,” Davis said. “We have stretches where we just don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor and those the ones that cost us. So, we got two days to get it right and come ready to win Game 3 (on) Thursday.”
(starts at 1:34 mark):
Well, it’s down to the coaching staff to ensure the players always know what they have to do on the court, so that is quite a shot at Ham. For Davis to claim that there are stretches during games where the players just have no idea what they’re supposed to do is quite concerning.
You wonder whether this is a case of Ham and his coaching staff’s message not being conveyed in the right way which has confused the players or if they are just somehow incompetent. Hopefully, it is the former and the Lakers can sort out that issue before Game 3.
Whatever the case may be, though, this is not a good look on Ham, who has been under fire all season long. A lot of his decisions have been questioned and it also appears as if his two superstars aren’t his biggest fans. Earlier this season, Davis had thrown shade at Ham for the defensive plan he had put in place for a game against the Sacramento Kings.
LeBron James, meanwhile, overrides Ham’s plays during timeouts and team huddles as per a report. It certainly does not seem as if it’s all roses and sunshine behind the scenes.
As for what’s happening on the court, the Lakers have now lost 10 games in a row to the Nuggets. It seemed like the losing streak would finally come to an end in Game 2 when the Lakers went up by 20 points in the third quarter, but the Nuggets stormed back and won 101-99 thanks to an incredible game-winner from Jamal Murray at the buzzer.
Darvin Ham Says He Isn’t Sure How To Stop Nikola Jokic
While Murray has given the Lakers plenty of headaches during this losing streak, his co-star Nikola Jokic has been an even bigger problem to deal with. In the lead-up to Game 2, Ham said he doesn’t know what to do to defend against Jokic.
“He’s become extremely efficient, like when he’s manning their offense, he knows how to kill you in a variety of different ways,” Ham said. “Just gotta put constant pressure on him and that doesn’t seem to bother him either. Taller than everybody. Wingspan, skill set. It’s like s**t, I don’t know what to do.”
No coach in the NBA has found a way to slow down Jokic, so it’s not a knock against Ham as such. Still, his comments have not gone down too well as you might imagine. If Ham does not find a way to slow down the Serb at least a little bit, this series might end in a sweep like last year.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
