Darvin Ham made five crucial errors this season, and a Lakers fan highlighted them and the consequences they had for the team.
Though they are 45-35, the Los Angeles Lakers are currently the No. 10 seed in the West and could miss out on the playoffs for yet another season. This season, the Western Conference has been extremely competitive, with each outcome having a big influence on the standings. Fans of the Lakers have blamed head coach Darvin Ham for the team’s numerous losses this season.
A Lakers fan used social media to highlight the biggest errors that Ham made during the season, raising doubts about all of the lineup choices that Ham made.
This season, Ham has been the target of taunts from enraged Laker supporters, with numerous rumors regarding Ham’s job security circulating. Even though Ham avoided being fired during the Lakers’ worst-case scenario over the winter, his mistakes will catch up with him if the team doesn’t perform well in the postseason or even make it.
So, are these errors as serious as they appear, or are they merely a talking point for supporters to demand a new head coach? Let’s get started on the same.
1. Benched Austin Reaves 2 Weeks Into The Season For 25 Games
Austin Reaves was the Los Angeles Lakers’ third star during their late-season surge the previous year, and they rode his hot hand all the way to the Western Conference Finals. Reaves was, nevertheless, limited to a bench role by Darvin Ham for 25 games, during which the Lakers finished 14–11.
Reaves was a starter when the team opened 3-5, but he was severely criticized for the slow start. His starting record of 31–24 demonstrates his worth. With the Lakers currently at 56.3%, his 14-11 record off the bench is a 56.0% record, indicating that benching Reaves wasn’t a wise or effective move.
Reaves plays a vital role for the Lakers, averaging 15.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.6 assists this season. Although Ham might have believed it was rational to start defenders like Cam Reddish or Taurean Prince as starters rather than Reaves and Russell together. But they continued to suffer from their lineups’ lack of flexibility until December, when Reaves was benched in favor of someone else and went back to the starting lineup.
2. Benched D’Angelo Russell In December
Russell had terrible performances in December, so Darvin Ham decided to bench him, which is why Reaves made a comeback to the starting lineup. Russell had averaged 10.4 points and 5.5 assists on 40.4% shooting in 13 games during December when trade rumors about him peaked. The Lakers went 4-3 while Russell was sitting on the bench, so while the move made sense at the time, they didn’t improve all that much. The moment he was reinserted as a starter in a more fluid offense, his contribution to the team was drastically altered.
This season, Russell has been outstanding, surpassing the Lakers single-season 3-point record, scoring more points than James Harden, the three-time scoring champion, and dishing out more assists than Curry.
3. 49 Starts with Taurean Prince
Taurean Prince, who has been a respectable Lakers rotational player, frequently takes the brunt of the criticism from the fans because he played a role that wasn’t appropriate for him for the majority of the season. This season, Prince has started 49 games for the Lakers, who have a 24–25 record and are below.500. His season average of 8.9 points and 3.0 rebounds can be explained only by his impressive 3-point shooting, which has him shooting 39.3% from beyond the field.
Prince has played good defense, but he should be viewed as a 3-and-D player rather than a starter for a contending team. The fact that Ham refused to start Rui Hachimura over Prince for significant portions of the season is perhaps the most telling evidence of his shortcomings as a coach this year. The Lakers’ 21-6 record in the 27 games he has started this season off the bench is not by accident.
4. 26 times started Cam Reddish
Hopefully, the Lakers’ summer swing-signing of Cam Reddish in free agency will provide him with the opportunity he never had with the Hawks or Knicks. Reddish was given plenty of chances by Darvin Ham, who started him in 26 games during the team’s 14–12 campaign. Many of these starts occurred when Ham was alternating between his backcourt and Reddish in the starting five at random, pairing either Reaves or Russell.
During a 3–10 stretch in December, the Lakers used lineups with LeBron as the point guard and Reddish, Prince, Vanderbilt, and Davis surrounding him. This put Reddish’s shortcomings on full display. Reddish’s potential could have made this lineup extremely effective in many ways, but Ham was ridiculous to expect him to perform well as the primary guard scoring option.
5. Didn’t Start Rui Hachimura Until February
The biggest rotational error that Ham committed this season—and the reason the Lakers are the 10th seed rather than the 6th—was his decision to hold off on starting Rui Hachimura until February of this year. Even that move to cover for Jarred Vanderbilt’s injury on the front line wasn’t one that Ham took voluntarily.
With Hachimura off the bench, the Lakers have a 14–15 record that is largely comprised of losses that occurred before February. With Hachimura in the starting lineup, the Lakers have gone 24-13. Because of this, he has also produced more; since February 1, he has averaged 16.1 points and 5.1 rebounds.
Rui had moments of brilliance the previous campaign and played a major role in the Lakers’ victory over the Grizzlies in the first round. His injury at the beginning of the season hindered his assimilation into the team, but his benching continued for far too long. Hachimura’s role was limited due to rumors of favoritism for other players, but Rui had more opportunities, so the team appeared competitive.