Los Angeles Lakers coach Darwin Ham acknowledged the front office will look to improve the roster ahead of next month’s trade deadline, but expressed optimism that the players in the locker room can turn things around now.“People talk about deals and this and that.
Nobody is hiding anything. There is an opportunity to get better. Take advantage of it.” Ham spoke to reporters after Monday’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. “But being in this dressing room, all we have to do is focus and pay attention to the details. There’s plenty of time in the locker room to do a few things.
The Lakers entered Monday as underdogs. Two games in a row, six of the last eight. Ham made another adjustment against the Thunder, starting Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince alongside Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
Trade rumors are nothing new for the Lakers, who have built much of this year’s secondary around last year’s cast. Commercial Terminology.
Russell, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt were key additions as the Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals, but they haven’t had the same chemistry this season. James, Davis and Prince made the starting lineup, with Ham rotating through Russell, Reeves, Vanderbilt, Hachimura and Max Christie.
Irregular rotations led to a lack of chemistry and even frustration among the players.
As the Lakers’ recent slump led to speculation of Coach Ham’s struggles, the coach returned to the lineup he used on Opening Night and produced impressive results.
A solid and consistent effort from the Lakers defense allowed the Lightning to shoot 41.7 percent from the floor, which hasn’t been a factor this season.”I think we can score,” Davis said. “I think we’re on the defensive side of things. Can we play defense like we did tonight? … I think the defense is going to pick us up and get us more wins. “Lakers are linking Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray and Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine as potential trade targets.
Fisher reported that the Lakers still won’t offer Reeves in any trade and that Russell isn’t considered a valuable target around the league.If Hamm’s latest attempt to fix the team’s woes fails, anyone not named Davis or James could go elsewhere.
