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Despite LeBron James and the LA Lakers winning the In-Season Tournament, the team lost five of its next six games until beating the OKC Thunder 123-109 on Saturday. Amid the series of losses, there have been questions about second-year coach Darvin Ham’s role in the Lakers’ declining performance this season.
The Lakers (16-14) have tumbled from fourth in the Western Conference to ninth. And there are enough reasons to believe that Ham and his coaching have been a hurdle in the Lakers’ success. He has been unable to fix the starting lineup, is using LeBron James more than he should and doesn’t seem to get fully engaged with his young players.
Last season, despite early struggles, the Lakers managed to reach the Western Conference finals. They had a 2-10 start and were 13-20 at Christmas but finished 43-39.
Here are five ways that Darvin Ham’s coaching has been bad for LeBron and the Lakers.
5 ways Darvin Ham has hampered LeBron James, Lakers in 2023-24
#1, No fixed lineup
When the Lakers played the OKC Thunder, it was already their eighth starting lineup of the season. Of course, they have dealt with injuries, but the lineup shuffling isn't going to help them. After 30 games, Darvin Ham is still calling his rotation a “Rubik’s cube.”
Ham hasn't been able to figure out his starting lineup, despite having almost all players back. Point guard Gabe Vincent is about to make his comeback, and there is a high chance that Ham will try to include him in the starting lineup to figure out the fit.
LeBron James has voiced the problem that at times there are lineups on the floor with players who haven't played together.
#2, No fixed role among players
In a recent interview, D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt voiced their confusion regarding their roles and minutes.
"Yeah, that's a problem as well," Russell replied when asked if players don't know their roles.
Vanderbilt said that he has no idea about his playing time since he has come back from injury.
"I don't know what I'm on, to be honest," he said on his minutes restrictions.
Regarding Austin Reaves' minutes, Ham recently said that he is keeping Reaves under 30 minutes to keep him fresh and efficient. Reaves is young and has been valuable for the offense. Not using him enough is detrimental to him individually as well as the team as a whole.
#3, Overusing LeBron James
When the season started, LeBron James was reportedly on a minutes restriction, reportedly under 30 minutes to save his body for the postseason.
However, of James' 27 games, he has played under 30 minutes only six times and is averaging over 34.2 minutes per game.
The Lakers star is going to be 39 within a week, and all that usage is going to wear him down. If LeBron continues to play these many minutes, Ham may diminish the Lakers' chances in the postseason.
#4, Bad substitution pattern that hampers LeBron’s production
In Wednesday's 124-108 loss at the Chicago Bulls, Ham consistently made bad substitutions. Even young players know that James, after his 21 years in the league, is most efficient with shooters on the floor. Ham continued to make the substitutions where he brought in players who were not good shooters.
Rather than putting James with Taurean Prince, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, who are good shooters, Ham at times substituted Jackson Hayes and Cam Reddish with him.
While they can be effective defensively, the Lakers aren't able to capitalize on James's elite passing.
Even Anthony Davis pointed out the problem after the game. He said that Ham was still figuring out consistent substitution patterns. Ham has been leaving players like Christian Woods and Jackson Hayes out of the lineups from some games altogether.
#5, Darvin Ham’s bad body language on the sideline
Darvin Ham needs to address his body language. He is often seen with his hands in his pocket. It's not a good look. He needs to constantly communicate with his players on the bench as well as on the floor. Leaving veteran players to help the young players is just too much.
He is barely aggressive on the sideline, which undermines his communication with the players on the floor. The Lakers coach is not doing the best job motivating his young players. Ham is barely seen as aggressive, not with his players and certainly not with the referees.
