“The Seat Warming Has Started” – Darvin Ham’s Los Angeles Lakers Job at Risk, LeBron James and Co. Remain Under .500
The No. 10 seed Los Angeles Lakers have been riding on a three-game losing streak after their massive loss to the Miami Heat on January 4, 2023. The trio of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Austin Reaves have missed a total of eight games combined, as per Jovan Buha of the Athletic. However, still, the team has won just two of the last six games in which all three were playing.
In a recent video on ‘Hoops Tonight,’ Juvan Buha accompanied Jason Tympf, and the two discussed the limping Lakers’ trajectory. Since the team is trailing under .500 with 17 wins and 1 loss, the entire league is curious about what’s happening in the front office. What’s astonishing is that although the Lakers have been in the top 10 considering their half-court defense and offense, the sluggish scores don’t make sense.
On top of that, the head coach of the Lakers, Darvin Ham, has been experimenting with different rotations and lineups in every other game now. Since the players are not getting enough time to become used to a single lineup, they just seem scattered on the floor with a trailing offense. For example, if Ham had gone with a lineup consisting of Austin Reaves, LeBron James, and Christian Woods, they would have stood a better chance against the less-favored Miami.
What adds to the concern is that although Miami was missing Jimmy Butler from the playing roster and was on a road trip for the last six games, the team still won. The question is, is there any doubt about the position of the Lakers’ head coach, or is Ham safe for this season?
Will the Los Angeles Lakers fire Darvin Ham?
As Jason Timpf asked Jovan Buha about the circulating rumors, Buha pointed towards a seat-warming situation. Buha said, “I mean, the guy made the Western Conference finals last year; they won the in-season tournament a few weeks ago, like, he’s fine, uh, but the seat warming has started.” The situation can be easily comprehended by the fact that if the team loses against the Grizzlies on January 5, 2023, and then against the Clippers on January 7, 2023, the chances of the same event can become twofold.
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@jovanbuha joins the show to break down his report on the frustrations inside the Lakers locker room with Darvin Ham.Link:
https://t.co/ZY3ZmeO5Oo pic.twitter.com/MrL9MAF9s1— Jason Timpf (@_JasonLT) January 4, 2024
The front office fired Frank Vogel on the same pretext, as the team was trailing with 37 wins and 42 losses in the 2022–23 season. Although James missed a total of 22 (approx.) games last season due to his foot injury, the same doesn’t apply to this consecutive loss this season. While D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura could provide a better outcome in terms of ball handling and offense, the current roster could have managed a win against the trailing Miami.
As NBA fans are awaiting action from the Lakers’ front office, it’s high time that the team starts throwing up numbers on the scoreboard. However, Dravin Ham still seems to be caught up in the illusion that if the roster had been healthy, the team could have amassed many more wins.
