The Los Angeles Lakers went into San Antonio on Wednesday night to face off with Victor Wembanyama for the very first time. Even without LeBron James, it looked like the Lakers were cruising to an easy victory over one of the worst teams in the league.
However, once the fourth quarter started, the team's 18-point lead over the Spurs started to dwindle. San Antonio cut the lead as low as one and it looked like the Lakers were going to blow a win for the second game in a row.
Anthony Davis was able to make both of his clutch free throws late, though, and it was enough to give the Lakers an early cushion. The team still gave fans a heart attack, though, and it is something that Darvin Ham touched on after the game. Ham boiled the fourth quarter down to one simple notion: common sense.
Darvin Ham on the Lakers’ poor fourth quarter: “We have to add common sense to our talent. … We were fortunate to get that W.”
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) December 14, 2023
This quote seems a bit ironic considering it is coming from the head coach and Lakers fans have ran with it. While Ham certainly wasn't talking about himself, fans want the second-year head coach to look in the mirror when making comments like this.
Lakers fans bash Darvin Ham after 'common sense' quote
Go look at the replies to Buha's post and most of the top replies are about how it starts with the coaching staff and Ham in particular. Heck, over on the Lakers subreddit, users are bashing Ham and his use of rotations after seeing him say this after the game.
Ham has grown unpopular with Lakers fans this season even though the team has enjoyed a good start that included winning the NBA Cup. Ham's rotations have been far from perfect and many fans don't like the laissez-faire approach he says in coaching.
To be fair to Ham, he is probably receiving more criticism than he deserves but that is going to happen regardless of who is coaching the Lakers. If the Lakers are winning it is because of the talent on the court and because of LeBron James' on-court coaching. If the Lakers are losing, it is because the head coach cannot figure out rotations and is a poor fit.
Was Ham's comment a bit ironic considering he has lacked coaching common sense at times? Absolutely. But he does not deserve all of the push back he is receiving after making a comment like this. He has a point, after all. The Lakers did lack common sense in the fourth quarter.