The Los Angeles Lakers have not lived up to expectations this season. Things started off on a great note as the Lakers battled through injuries and were able to win the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. However, that was the peak of the season thus far and it has been all downhill since.
Los Angeles has struggled immensely since that trip to Las Vegas and currently has a 22-23 record on the year. There is absolutely no reason for the Lake Show to be under .500 when Anthony Davis and LeBron James are mostly healthy but alas, this is the situation the team finds itself in.
Shouldering most of the blame for this horrible start is none other than Darvin Ham. Ham's questionable decisions with the rotation have not been popular and many are questioning his overall impact as the head coach. To many fans, Ham is the sole person holding this Lakers team back.
Many fans think that the only way this season can be salvaged is if the Lakers move on from Ham like the Milwaukee Bucks just did with Adrian Griffin. However, that does not appear to be in the cards, as Lakers insider Jovan Buha told Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype that he thinks Ham will make it the rest of the year in LA.
"I think he’s safe through the rest of the season. If things went completely haywire and the Lakers lost six, seven, or eight games in a row and you see them spiraling down the standings, that’s where maybe things get wobbly. I had the report with Shams earlier in the month after that Miami loss and the Lakers were trending in that direction. They lost four games in a row for the second time in a few weeks. There was some disconnect in the locker room and players were upset about their roles and rotations. I don’t think that stuff is entirely gone."
Lakers fans' Darvin Ham nightmare won't end any time soon
It looks like fans are just going to have to buckle up and be in it for the long haul with Darvin Ham. Regardless of how bewildering his coaching has been this season, it does not look like the team has any interest in changing head coaches midseason.
To be fair, it can be really hard to change a head coach midseason and still go on a title run. The Milwaukee Bucks are hiring Doc Rivers to lead them to the promised land and there may not be that home run replacement out there for the purple and gold.
So Lakers fans just have to hope that Ham figures it out and starts treating this season with some urgency. The Western Conference is wide open this season and anyone can beat anyone. The last thing this Lakers team needs is to fall into the Play-In Tournament yet again and risk not even getting a chance to make a playoff run.
Ham either needs to figure it out quickly or the Lakers need to win games in spite of him. That is what LeBron and Co. did in the In-Season Tournament when $500,000 was on the line, so the hope is that the team can turn it up a notch in March if need be.
But regardless of what happens, if the Lakers are going to go on a title run it is going to have to be with Darvin Ham.