"Darvin Ham is so unserious" - Lakers Twitter continues piling on former coach as Bucks pump Taurean Prince's minutes

The Milwaukee Bucks suffered an unexpected 115-102 road loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Afterward, LA Lakers fans continued blasting their team's ex-coach Darvin Ham, now Milwaukee's lead assistant, for overplaying veteran wing Taurean Prince.

Ham was frequently maligned last season for starting Prince in 49 of LA's 82 contests. Many Lakers fans felt the franchise should have started shooting guard Austin Reaves and forward Rui Hachimura throughout the campaign instead.

While the then-second-year head coach ultimately acquiesced to fans' pleas, it wasn't enough to save his job. Ham was fired in May after LA suffered a 4-1 first-round playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets and was replaced by rookie coach JJ Redick.

In June, Ham returned to Milwaukee, where he worked as an assistant from 2018 to 2022, to be Doc Rivers' right-hand man. Prince followed suit, signing a one-year, $3 million contract with the Bucks in July, seemingly giving them additional depth.

Instead, Prince has slotted in as a starter in place of injured veteran star wing Khris Middleton, who continues to rehab from offseason ankle surgery.

During Sunday's double-digit loss to Brooklyn, a squad many projected to be the league's worst, Prince played a team-high 34 minutes. He narrowly edged out superstar teammates Giannis Antetokounmpo (33 minutes) and Damian Lillard (32 minutes) but made a limited impact.

Prince tallied three points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal, one 3-pointer and two turnovers, shooting 25.0%. Afterward, Lakers fans on X/Twitter continued piling on Ham for playing another role in overextending the nine-year veteran.

"Darvin Ham took Taurean Prince with him, and now has him playing more minutes than Giannis and Dame, LMAO," @LakeShowYo said.

"Darvin Ham is so unserious," @dgsire wrote.

"Inside job from him to tear down the Bucks," @loynerlucas said.

"Who thought Doc Rivers and Darvin Ham on the same coaching staff was a good idea?" @23CapalotJ wrote.

"He's gotta treat his boyfriend better than his stars," @4ShoStl said.

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Taurean Prince seemingly in line for more starting opportunities on Darvin Ham's Bucks

While LA's fanbase roasted Darvin Ham and Milwaukee for overplaying Taurean Prince, the veteran appears in line for more starting opportunities.

Khris Middleton reportedly has "no clear timetable" to return and is expected to miss the second leg of the Bucks' back-to-back against the Boston Celtics.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee is short on proven wing depth. So, the franchise may not have any better replacements than Prince. Nevertheless, Prince appears unlikely to regularly surpass Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard in playing time. Through three outings, he's tied for fourth on the Bucks in minutes per game (31.3).

Prince and Milwaukee (1-2) will look to bounce back against an undefeated Boston squad (3-0) at TD Garden on Monday.

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