Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham made a change to the starting lineup, swapping out D’Angelo Russell and adding Jarred Vanderbilt to Cam Reddish, and Taurean Prince alongside stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
The decision has not gone well so far, and Lakers insider Jovan Buha of The Athletic pointed to some numbers to underscore that fact.
“Minuscule sample size but it’s been a disaster,” Buha said in the post.
They are 1-1 since the change following their 126-115 loss to the Boston Celtics on Christmas, though that is an improvement over the four-game losing streak that sparked the changes from Ham.
“LA is clearly leaning into perimeter defense, size and athleticism with this new group. This is a unit that can get stops and out in transition,” Buha posted on December 23, quoting Charania’s post. “The concerns are clear, though: 3-point shooting, spacing, ballhandling and playmaking. OKC and others will pack the paint even more.”
Ham offered his explanation for why things have been difficult for his squad of late.
“We came back a little lethargic, just coming off a long trip and then the whole Christmas circumstances of the holiday or whatever – early game,” Ham said after the game via NBA.com. “Took us a little bit of time to get going.”
He noted the Lakers had some “good looks” early in the game. But Ham lamented the Lakers sending the Celtics to the free throw line for 14 attempts in the third quarter alonc.
“I think it hurt us big time,” Ham said. “It really puts your defense in Jeopardy, and it causes you to kind of play on your heels.”
But he doubled down on the travel woes when pressed about the offensive shortcomings.
“We’ve been zipping and zagging across the country, man. Back and forth across the country. So, and then, again everyone has family in town for this, Christmas Day. And you’re disappointed. But you’re not discouraged. We dropped to, what, 16-15 I believe? We got 51 games left to play.
The Lakers already overcame a 3-5 start to the season, giving them something to fall back on.
“It’s an ongoing process,” Ham said. “I’m not distraught or not seeing it for what it is. It’s just it’s the NBA season. You’re going to go through your ebbs and flows.
“Those dog days are going to set in pretty quickly after these holidays are over with. And the biggest thing is to see what we can get better at day in and day out to make our team not just stronger, but more consistent night in and night out.