As the season approaches midway, the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in a position that many pundits and fans did not expect. The Lakers are in play-in tournament bracket purgatory, far from the top of the Western Conference, and while there are numerous reasons for this, head coach Darvin Ham is mostly to blame.
Ham is in his second year as head coach for the purple and gold, and the fan base dislikes his methods. He is regularly chastised for his dubious rotations, coaching selections, and lineups. Ham is clearly not a fan favorite among the Laker faithful. He isn’t getting the job done right now, and as a result,
Ham is tied with Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams at +300 odds to become the first head coach dismissed during the 2023-2024 season. Although he is heavily favored by bookmakers, the prospects of LA kicking the can on Ham appear to be slim. I’m sorry to break it to you, Darvin haters.
According to reports last week, the Lakers, governor Jeanie Buss, and general manager Rob Pelinka are in ‘alignment’ with Ham and are fully supportive of him at this time. Then again, what do you expect them to say?
Since the in-season tournament championship, the Lakers have appeared disinterested and sloppy. Furthermore, Ham’s dubious decision-making has had no positive impact on the team. He keeps players in the game who aren’t contributing right now; he sits players who are performing well, and he doesn’t give the Lakers the best possible lineup to meet the opponent. Ham sits hot players for too long and holds underperforming players for too long.
