After the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Sacramento Kings on the road by 13 points on Wednesday, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham made a comment directed at Kings head coach Mike Brown that will draw the ire of fans of the iconic franchise.
Darvin Ham: "I wish i could tell Mike Brown, 'When you play offense, just let us know what you gonna run, so we can stop it.'" pic.twitter.com/mE2e8WpYJz
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) March 14, 2024
Ham’s second season as the head coach of the Lakers has been rocky at times. Back in January, a report surfaced claiming that there was a “deepening disconnect” between Ham and Los Angeles’ locker room.
“Following their ninth loss in 12 games, the Los Angeles Lakers have hit a new nadir in their season, amplifying concerns about the direction of the season from both inside and outside the organization,” Shams Charania and Jovan Buha wrote.
“There’s currently a deepening disconnect between Darvin Ham and the Lakers locker room, six sources with direct knowledge of the situation say, raising questions about the head coach’s standing. The people spoke with The Athletic on condition of anonymity so that they could speak freely on the matter. Those sources have described that the disjointedness between the coach and team has stemmed from the extreme rotation and starting lineup adjustments recently from Ham, leading to a fluctuating rhythm for several players across the roster.”
So far in the month of March — a month that could reportedly define Ham’s future with the Lakers — he has coached the team to a 3-3 record. Los Angeles’ loss to the Kings on Wednesday marked its second loss of the month to Sacramento, as the Kings also beat the Lakers on the road back on March 6.
The Kings picked apart the Lakers’ defense in their most recent matchup. Sacramento dropped 120 points on Los Angeles while shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 46.3 percent from 3-point range.
Sacramento also played very unselfishly, considering the team combined for 30 assists on 46 made baskets.
De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis served as the team’s playmaking hubs against Los Angeles. The former dropped 21 points and seven assists on 9-of-20 shooting from the field, while the latter recorded a triple-double with 17 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists.
According to the numbers, the Kings have been one of the most lethal offensive teams in the NBA in the 2023-24 regular season. Sacramento averages the seventh-most points per game in the league at the moment at 118.4.
Additionally, the Kings knock down the fourth-most 3-pointers per contest at 14.4, fewer than only the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they will take on another one of the league’s top offenses in their next game when they host the Warriors on March 16. Golden State owns a mediocre 5-5 record in its last 10 games and recently picked up a loss to the Mavericks on Wednesday.
