The Los Angeles Lakers were no match for the Miami Heat in a 96-110 loss, one that’s dropped them below .500 with a 17-18 record on the season. Darvin Ham has been feeling the heat from the Lakers fanbase with this loss increasing the temperature. He claims this loss was due to the Lakers missing rotational players hurting their team more than the Heat were hurt by the absence of star Jimmy Butler.
“Darvin Ham just said that the Lakers missing multiple rotation players is more impactful than them missing a “big dog” (in response to a question about the Heat missing Jimmy Butler).”
Darvin Ham just said that the Lakers missing multiple rotation players is more impactful than them missing a “big dog” (in response to a question about the Heat missing Jimmy Butler).
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) January 4, 2024
The Lakers were without D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, and Rui Hachimura on the night.
This argument cannot work anymore. The Lakers are not the only team in the NBA restricted by injuries. The Dallas Mavericks stayed over .500 despite missing multiple players around Luka Doncic, primarily Kyrie Irving. Even Luka has missed games but the Mavericks are 20-15 instead of being below .500.
We’ve heard LeBron cite injuries as a problem earlier in the season as well. After a point, you have to make do with the situation you’re in. Injuries will keep coming and going, with teams around the NBA finding ways to adjust to it. The Lakers haven’t been able to, and it’s clear that people on the team not named Darvin Ham realize that injuries cannot be an excuse anymore.
Anthony Davis And Austin Reaves Refuse To Blame Injuries For The Lakers Struggles
Anthony Davis had a sensational game tonight, dropping 29 points, 17 rebounds, five assists, five blocks, and three steals. He left his all on the court and emphasized that the team cannot blame injuries on the roster for their struggles.
“We got outworked tonight. It’s a little bit of everything right now and if we keep on this trend, it’s not going to be good for us. It’s kinda obvious we need to figure it out sooner rather than later. Guys being out, that’s not an excuse. There’s no excuses for us.”
“We got outworked tonight… It’s a little bit of everything right now and if we keep on this trend, it’s not going to be good for us.” Anthony Davis pic.twitter.com/ur5F9Dv81f
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 4, 2024
Even Austin Reaves, who was promoted to the starting lineup after a stint as the Lakers sixth man, made it clear that the Lakers cannot use the lack of continuity due to injuries as an excuse for being under .500.
“We can’t use that as an excuse. We gotta be better as a team.”
On continuity issues, Reaves said, "We can't use that as an excuse. We gotta be better as a team"
— Edwin Garcia (@ECreates88) January 4, 2024
LeBron James refused to speak to the media after his 12-point outing, arguably his worst performance of the season so far.
The players want to take accountability, but the job of breaking down the zone defense that the Heat played for almost the entire night falls with Ham. It’s his job as the coach to put his players in a position to be competitive. Shooting struggles cannot be rectified by a coach, but there needs to be more offensive creativity for the Lakers to have a chance at making the playoffs.
The Lakers have the fifth-worst offensive rating in the NBA (112.4) this season. A trade could fix that, but if a game-changer like Zach LaVine and Dejounte Murray doesn’t join the team, the Lakers may have to settle for a coaching change.
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