The Lakers vs. Pelicans In-Season Tournament semi-final saw head coaches of both teams mic’d up for the national TV broadcast. Darvin Ham and Willie Green didn’t necessarily drop any gems of coaching wisdom knowing they had a hot mic on them, but Ham was seen blatantly trying to work the referees and call fouls on Pelicans players in certain defensive positions.
“You know what, great call. Remember that one. When you see these two going at the basket, remember that call right there.”
Ain’t no way Darvin Ham actually telling the refs when to make calls when a specific player is at a specific spot. You can’t tell me the lakers has them on a payroll! pic.twitter.com/9qU3wP2NDZ
— PointMarte🌵🏜️ (@CactusSunnnn) December 8, 2023
Naturally, this has concerned many fans who noticed this moment in the broadcast. With constant allegations of big-market bias, it’ll be fair for fans of smaller teams to see this clip and use it as an example of how the Lakers influence referees. However, we’ve seen coaches work the referees like this consistently, with players doing it as well.
A coach will naturally communicate with the referees. Things that go in one coach’s favor will always prompt that coach to remind the officiating crew of it, so this is just what a coach does. After all, we often criticize coaches for not protecting their players enough.
The Lakers Establishing Themselves As Contenders With An In-Season Tournament Win?
The Lakers have had an up-and-down start to the season but seem to have found their groove now. In addition to being undefeated throughout the In-Season Tournament, the Lakers are now the No. 5 seed in the West with a record of 12-9.
They were supposed to be contenders before the start of the season and are finding their way to earning that status, but LeBron James was quick to remind everyone after the Lakers’ semi-final win that the In-Season Tournament is too early in the season for people to say the Lakers are the complete package.
“It’s still December, I’m not getting too crazy about the whole thing. I understand that this thing has been great, but it’s still December. It is another game for us to get better. We wanna try and win the game because we’re a team that wants to get better every time we go out there. We have another opportunity to do that.”
They clearly want to win this tournament but they understand that they are in the process of becoming a better team right now. They’ve found most of their team returning to the roster after an injury-mired start to the year.
With most of their rotation back, LeBron continuing to defy expectations for a player in Year 21, and Anthony Davis playing at a DPOY level, the Lakers will hope to finally find the consistency that allows them to compete for a title.
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