Being a head coach isn’t for the faint of heart as they are oftentimes the first person to get blamed when a team starts losing. Such has been the case with Darvin Ham as he’s come under fire in recent weeks for the Los Angeles Lakers’ poor stretch since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament.
Ham has been preaching for his team to block out the external noise, but it’s hard to ignore all the reports surfacing about the job he’s doing.
However, Ham’s got support from his fellow head coaches like Tyronn Lue, who came to his defense before the Lakers played the L.A. Clippers.
“No, actually I haven’t,” Lue said when asked if he has spoken with Ham. “I was gonna reach out to him a couple of days ago. But it’s definitely unfair. It’s a long season, different things go on throughout the course of a season, a lot of changing parts.
“We said the same thing last year when they were 2-10 and went to the Conference Finals. So are you giving the coach all the credit for that? I don’t think so. I think he did a hell of a job last year by doing that and the same thing this year.
“They got a lot of injuries, a lot of different rotations, a lot of starting lineups. It’s hard. People think about Xs and Os but it’s more than just Xs and Os in the NBA, being a coach. It’s a lot to do with just dealing with different personalities, different egos, there’s a lot that goes into it.
“So the biggest thing for me with D-Ham is just keep doing what you believe in. What he did last year was huge, going from 2-10 to going to the Conference Finals. That says a lot about what he can do as a coach. So just stay positive, continue to do the work you’re supposed to be doing and things will work out.
“AD is playing at a high level, LeBron is playing at a high level, now you get DLo back, Austin Reaves has been great off the bench. He’s starting now, but off the bench he’s been great. So they just need to get healthy and once they get healthy and get their rotations down, they can be a tough team to beat.”
Lue understands the obstacles that Ham is facing, especially as someone who’s played for the franchise previously. Winning cures all in the NBA, and if Ham wants to keep his job he’ll have to start producing more victories sooner rather than later.
Lakers rumors: Phil Handy candidate to replace Darvin Ham
As of now, Ham has the support of the organization but should he get fired Phil Handy is considered an option to replace him.
The Lakers would need to continue faltering for that to be a possibility though, so the hope is that they will be able to turn it around and no changes will be necessary.
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