To see the images and the joy in the locker room, you would think that the Lakers won the NBA title! For his first career victory as a coach, Darvin Ham was treated to a shower from his players, as is traditionally done in the NFL or NCAA. It sings, it dances, it’s fun… It’s only a small victory, but we feel that it frees a whole group.
“It’s a good little bath” testifies Anthony Davis. “You can’t ask for more from a coach. We deserve it, he deserves it, and it was good to give him this first victory as a coach. He gave us a speech, and we were there, the type to say to him: ‘OK Coach, we don’t care about your speech’. And we flooded it! »
“I’ve been saying it since day one: the shots will eventually come in. Our attack will match our defense.”
For Darvin Ham, the Lakers needed to prove things to themselves“. “Not to the whole world. Not to the media. We had things to prove to ourselves, and I thought the way we responded was brilliant.” explains Frank Vogel’s successor.
Two symbols in this victory. First, there is the 3-dot address. The Lakers finish with 13 of 30 from 3-point range, or 43%. It’s twice better than the usual address, and in the second period, they even shoot at 50%: 8 out of 16.
“I just think the ball was livelier. The guys walked in, they stared and then found the shooters unmarked, and the guys didn’t hesitate to shoot” Darvin Ham analysis. “I’ve been saying it since day one: the shots will eventually come in. Our offense will match our defense. »
The other symbol of victory against Denver is the performance of Russell Westbrook. Now the sixth man, he brought the hoped-for punch off the bench. He is close to triple-double with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, and he was on the floor during the best passages of the team, as evidenced by his +/-: +18.
“He sacrificed his starting position for the good of the team. He thrives in this role.”
“Frankly, I love seeing my teammates flourish” explains Russell Westbrook, in reference to Lonnie Walker IV and Austin Reaves. “My whole career, I’ve enjoyed seeing other people succeed, and it lifts my spirits to see other people play well. Tonight, we saw the guys put their shots, be competitive and that’s all we ask. »
Since Russell Westbrook does not put himself forward, it is Anthony Davis who pays tribute to him.
“That a player of his caliber agrees to come off the bench, it shows that he is really a player ready to do anything for the team to win” concludes the interior. “He sacrificed his starting position for the good of the team. He thrives in this role. That’s all we ask. I told him, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing. Everything you do is amazing.’ In the last two games, he just did what he knows how to do. I’m proud of him. »
| Russell Westbrook | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2008-09 | OKAY | 82 | 33 | 39.8 | 27.1 | 81.5 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 3.3 | 0.2 | 15.3 |
| 2009-10 | OKAY | 82 | 34 | 41.8 | 22.1 | 78.0 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 4.9 | 8.0 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 16.1 |
| 2010-11 | OKAY | 82 | 35 | 44.2 | 33.0 | 84.2 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 8.2 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 0.4 | 21.9 |
| 2011-12 | OKAY | 66 | 35 | 45.7 | 31.6 | 82.3 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 0.3 | 23.6 |
| 2012-13 | OKAY | 82 | 35 | 43.8 | 32.3 | 80.0 | 1.4 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 7.4 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 23.2 |
| 2013-14 | OKAY | 46 | 31 | 43.7 | 31.8 | 82.6 | 1.2 | 4.5 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 0.2 | 21.8 |
| 2014-15 | OKAY | 67 | 34 | 42.6 | 29.9 | 83.5 | 1.9 | 5.4 | 7.3 | 8.6 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 4.4 | 0.2 | 28.2 |
| 2015-16 | OKAY | 80 | 34 | 45.4 | 29.6 | 81.2 | 1.8 | 6.0 | 7.8 | 10.4 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 4.3 | 0.3 | 23.5 |
| 2016-17 ★ | OKAY | 81 | 35 | 42.5 | 34.3 | 84.5 | 1.7 | 9.0 | 10.7 | 10.4 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 5.4 | 0.4 | 31.6 |
| 2017-18 | OKAY | 80 | 36 | 44.9 | 29.8 | 73.7 | 1.9 | 8.2 | 10.1 | 10.3 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 4.8 | 0.3 | 25.4 |
| 2018-19 | OKAY | 73 | 36 | 42.8 | 29.0 | 65.6 | 1.5 | 9.6 | 11.1 | 10.7 | 3.4 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 23.0 |
| 2019-20 | HOO | 57 | 36 | 47.2 | 25.8 | 76.3 | 1.8 | 6.2 | 7.9 | 7.0 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 4.5 | 0.4 | 27.3 |
| 2020-21 | WAS | 65 | 36 | 43.9 | 31.5 | 65.6 | 1.7 | 9.9 | 11.5 | 11.7 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 4.8 | 0.4 | 22.2 |
| 2021-22 | ALL | 78 | 34 | 44.4 | 29.8 | 66.7 | 1.4 | 6.0 | 7.4 | 7.1 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 0.3 | 18.5 |
| 2022-23 | ALL | 4 | 30 | 30.9 | 12.5 | 65.0 | 0.5 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 12.3 |
| Total | 1025 | 35 | 43.8 | 30.4 | 78.3 | 1.7 | 5.7 | 7.4 | 8.4 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 4.1 | 0.3 | 22.8 | |
