Deprived of several players, including LeBron James, the Lakers were beaten by the Jazz in Salt Lake City, 139-116. With a balance of 2 wins and 8 defeats, they leave a bad dynamic, the 3rd consecutive defeat, of at least 14 points. After 10 meetings they are in 14th place out of 15 in the West.
“I would say this. You can write it, quote it, “Darvin Ham told reporters, starting a passionate rant about the current state of the Lakers.” It’s something that can happen early on, when you’re trying to force a cultural change to get back very competitive on a regular basis. but it won’t always be like that. We will reverse the trend. I didn’t come here to lose. They didn’t bring me here to lose. “
A difficult start expected, but evidently not at this point. The coach tries to see the bright side.
“It’s a process where we have to go through difficult times,” continues Ham. “I want to bottle this. I want to kiss him. I want it to be that way, and for it to be remembered so that when things change and we feel too comfortable and we start complaining about some issues that aren’t even necessarily issues – issues that winning teams go through – I want those moments to be remembered. . “
But some are far less positive, like Anthony Davis, who scored 29 points at 18/11 but couldn’t prevent the new setback for his people. For him the concern is clear, he is on the defensive.
“It’s like we stopped communicating in the third quarter, we stopped helping each other,” said Anthony Davis. “We can’t afford it. Damn, 2-8 is a hard pill for me to swallow. Sure, that can change. I guess New Orleans was 1-12 or something like that last year, they came back and ran. We have to. do it together. The attack has found its rhythm, but it seems that we have lost all our defensive intensity. And that is what is killing us. “
Even though Ham said he wasn’t specifically targeting Anthony Davis, he doesn’t want to see the players defeated.
“I don’t want anyone around me with a defeatist mentality,” Ham said. “I don’t want anyone around me who isn’t competitive. I don’t want anyone around me who is selfish. We need to always be on the same page, for better or for worse. And that’s all I can say about it. I always since the glass is half full, under any circumstances. And I’m sure it won’t stop now. We will pass this test and come out stronger. “
The concern is that the Lakers, who clearly have a poorly constructed workforce, will have a hard time strengthening themselves. The solution will come internally
“We have to take a step forward and play better,” Ham said. “We can’t get players, we are already paying the luxury tax. We have no money to spend on building a team. We already have 3 star future Hall of Famers taking up a good chunk of our budget and not much else to offer. “
Through ESPN
