Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham appeared to address Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr’s comments about the team “flopping” during Game 5 of their series.
Ham answered sideline reporter Chris Haynes’ question by adamantly saying he doesn’t teach his players to flop.
“We don’t teach flopping” -Darvin Ham 💯 pic.twitter.com/VsvF9uWTki
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 11, 2023
“We don’t teach flopping,” Ham said. “We teach our players to play downhill and attack the paint and be forceful.”
Prior to Game 5, Kerr made comments about the Lakers’ ability to draw fouls with flops. Lakers guard Dennis Schroder clapped back at those comments prior to the Game 5 matchup.
The Lakers entered Game 5 with a 3-1 series lead on the Warriors after erasing a double-digit deficit in Game 4. Los Angeles has already won one game in Golden State, taking Game 1 of this series.
With Game 6 in Los Angeles, where the Lakers are 6-0 in the postseason (counting the play-in tournament win over the Minnesota Timberwolves), the team doesn’t have to come away with a road victory against Stephen Curry and company on Wednesday night.
Kerr’s comments seem to have irked the Lakers a bit. The team has committed to playing an improved brand of basketball, especially on the defensive end, since making several moves at the trade deadline.
Ham, a first-year head coach, clearly wasn’t going to let Kerr’s comments slide about his team.
This has been an impressive first season for Ham, as he guided the Lakers to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference after a slow start to the campaign. Not only did Los Angeles upset the No. 2-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, but it needed just six games to do so before taking a 3-1 series lead on Golden State.
Ham has made some great adjustments against the Warriors, with arguably the biggest one being his move to bring Lonnie Walker IV back into the rotation.
The Lakers guard was the hero in Game 4, scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter to lead the team’s comeback win.
It should be fun for Lakers fans to watch Kerr and Ham battle through their game plans and adjustments for the rest of this series. Lakers fans are hoping this series will end in Game 5 or Game 6 to avoid a winner-take-all Game 7 in San Francisco.
