On Wednesday night, the Lakers lost 110-96 at home to the Miami Heat. The team has been struggling as of late with losses in eight of their last 10 games. It’s been an uphill battle for the team to win consistently. Additionally, the team has now lost nine of their last 12 games and are below .500 for the first time since mid-November.
With that, league sources have reported a growing disconnect between head coach Darvin Ham and some of his players. Shams Charanaia of The Athletic noted that there are concerns from inside and outside the organization. Something has to change soon if Ham wants to keep his job. He’s tried to make adjustments on the fly, but they have not worked out in the team’s favor.
Darvin Ham is on the hot seat and needs to get Los Angeles back to their winning ways
There’s “a growing disconnect between Darvin Ham and Lakers locker room” according to @ShamsCharania and @jovanbuha.
The issues are reportedly stemming from disjointedness around rotation and adjustments. pic.twitter.com/o79zTUvHgL
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 4, 2024
According to Shams Charania, a lot of players for the Lakers have not been happy with the revolving rotation Ham has had. It’s been described as “disjointedness” between the coach and the team. They are not happy with all the lineup adjustments Ham has been making, Players want to get into a rhythm and that’s something they have not been able to do lately.
In a loss on Wednesday to the Lakers, Ham used his 10th different starting five of the 2023-24 season. Additionally, it was his third different starting lineup in the last three games. A big reason why the team is on a three-game losing streak. The continuity has not been there for the team and the lineup changes have been too sporadic. If the Lakers want to turn their rough stretch around, Darvin Ham needs to stick with one starting five and let them build chemistry. Continuously changing the lineup is never going to work.
Darvin Ham took out Austin Reaves and put in Jalen Hood-Schifino. “I was stunned when he came into the game”. #Lakers need to fire Ham. #FireHam pic.twitter.com/npblDbK6DG
— TJ Laker (@Lakers24LifeMan) January 4, 2024
This is only Darvin Ham’s second season as head coach of the Lakers. However, the team is struggling right now and Ham is taking most of the blame. Los Angeles has a ton of talent on their roster in 2023-24. It’s up to Ham and the rest of his coaching staff to play the right players and give the team the best chance to win. Something that hasn’t been happening since the beginning of December. The Lakers’ next game is Friday night vs. Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies.
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