We knew it was in the hot seat and ESPN Then The Athletic formalized in the evening the ouster of Darvin Ham from the bench of Lakerstwo years from the end of his contract (five million dollars per season).
Two years after his arrival in California, the 50-year-old technician leaves his position with the In-Season Tournament trophy in his pocket, as well as two playoff qualifications (obtained via play-in) and a record of 90 victories for 74 losses in the regular season. Under his orders, Los Angeles will have played in a conference final in 2023 and a first round this year, losing each time to the Nuggets.
At the helm of the Lakers, we thought the team could compete for the title, and we undoubtedly also considered that the fluctuating rotations and the unclear tactical schemes of Darvin Ham, coupled with his lack of adaptation, pulled the workforce downwards. The coach did not fail to attract criticism from Anthony Davis after Game 2 against Denver, when LA “didn’t know what to do on both ends of the pitch”.
To replace him, The Athletic is already mentioning the names of Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick and Tyronn Lue. The remaining objective, of course, is to offer LeBron James one last opportunity to win the title.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| LeBron James | 71 | 35.3 | 54.0 | 41.0 | 75.0 | 0.9 | 6.4 | 7.3 | 8.3 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 25.7 |
| Anthony Davis | 76 | 35.5 | 55.6 | 27.1 | 81.6 | 3.1 | 9.5 | 12.6 | 3.5 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 24.7 |
| Angelo Russell | 76 | 32.7 | 45.6 | 41.5 | 82.8 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 6.3 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 18.0 |
| Austin Reaves | 82 | 32.1 | 48.6 | 36.7 | 85.3 | 0.7 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 5.5 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 15.9 |
| Rui Hachimura | 68 | 26.8 | 53.7 | 42.2 | 73.9 | 0.9 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 13.6 |
| Taurean Prince | 78 | 27.0 | 44.2 | 39.6 | 73.5 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 8.9 |
| Christian Wood | 50 | 17.4 | 46.6 | 30.7 | 70.2 | 0.8 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 6.9 |
| Spencer Dinwiddie | 28 | 24.2 | 39.7 | 38.9 | 88.0 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 6.8 |
| Cam Reddish | 48 | 20.5 | 38.9 | 33.6 | 75.9 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 5.4 |
| Jared Vanderbilt | 29 | 20.0 | 51.8 | 29.6 | 66.7 | 1.4 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 5.2 |
| Jaxson Hayes | 70 | 12.5 | 72.0 | 0.0 | 62.2 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 4.3 |
| Max Christie | 67 | 14.1 | 42.7 | 35.6 | 78.3 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 4.2 |
| Gabe Vincent | 11 | 19.8 | 30.6 | 10.7 | 50.0 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 3.1 |
| From me Hodge | 7 | 5.9 | 33.3 | 25.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 2.0 |
| Jalen Hood-schifino | 21 | 5.2 | 22.2 | 13.3 | 60.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.6 |
| Colin Castleton | 16 | 3.7 | 56.3 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.5 |
| Dylan Windler | 8 | 3.5 | 44.4 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.5 |
| Skylar Mays | 17 | 4.5 | 47.6 | 40.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.3 |
| Alex Fudge | 4 | 3.6 | 16.7 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 |
| Maxwell Lewis | 34 | 3.0 | 19.0 | 11.1 | 66.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Harry Giles | 7 | 2.7 | 16.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
