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Lakers’ Darvin Ham gives the quote of the year about LeBron James

Jason Reed|
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 13: Head coach Darvin Ham and LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers watch from the sidelines during the first half against the Boston Celtics at Crypto.com Arena on December 13, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 13: Head coach Darvin Ham and LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers watch from the sidelines during the first half against the Boston Celtics at Crypto.com Arena on December 13, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

LeBron James has been on a tear since Anthony Davis injured his foot. It has been out of necessity as well, as LeBron is simply trying to keep the Los Angeles Lakers afloat while Davis gets healthy to return for a hopeful playoff push.

James is averaging 35.1 points,7.4 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game without AD and just put together two back-to-back vintage performances in Lakers’ wins. After dropping 47 against the Atlanta Hawks on his birthday, LeBron dropped another 43 on the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.

There is no question that LeBron is playing at an MVP level right now and he is perhaps the only reason why this season hasn’t completely broken down for the Lakers. Head coach Darvin Ham knows that LeBron is on a next-level tear and gave the NBA world the quote of the year when trying to describe just how impactful James has been.

NBA Twitter obviously had fun with the innuendo that comes with this one. If you get it you get it. If not, well, that is okay too.

The Lakers are forcing Darvin Ham to be contradictory about LeBron James.

It has been absolutely spectacular to watch James go to work over the last few games. Before that, it was Anthony Davis who was putting together jaw-dropping performances on a nightly basis. For as bad as this season has been, there have been some truly great Lakers performances.

That being said, the front office’s inability to put together a quality, deep roster has forced Ham to be very contradictory with how he is handling LeBron this season. Back in September, Ham made it a point to express that he did not want LeBron or AD playing playoff minutes in October, November, or December.

If we are being technical I guess LeBron can start playing playoff minutes since it is January but that obviously is not what Ham wants. Ham wants and needs his superstars to be fresh as that is their only chance of making any kind of run this season.

LeBron is averaging 36 minutes per game this season and is averaging even higher than that since Davis was injured. LeBron is tied for 10th in the NBA in minutes played per game with at least 29 games played this season. That is not what Ham was envisioning for this team in September.

It is just unfortunate that it is a necessity for the Lakers. There is no real way around it because if Ham doesn’t throw his full faith in LeBron James then this season is going to start to crater quickly.