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Things seemed to be going well for the Los Angeles Lakers in Wednesday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings when they took a 19-point lead in the first quarter, but everything quickly fell apart.
The Lakers ended up suffering a 130-120 loss to the Kings at home following a 44-point outburst from De’Aaron Fox, but also thanks in large part to some questionable coaching decisions from Darvin Ham.
Sacramento outscored Los Angeles 44-20 in the second quarter to quickly erase its deficit. Ham often chose not to call a timeout to prevent the Kings from running. The Lakers trailed by 22 points in the third quarter, but once again Ham did little to stop the bleeding. Los Angeles never cut the lead to single digits in the entire second half.
To make matters worse for the Lakers, star forward LeBron James twisted his ankle and left the game with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter. He led the team with 31 points and 13 assists, but once again his individual brilliance wasn’t enough to earn the victory.
Lakers fans didn’t hold back their frustration with Ham after Wednesday’s disappointing loss:
???????????????? @SixthManJake
This is the type of loss where you need to fire Darvin Ham on the spot.
This is now inexcusable.
Michael Brumagin @MBrumagin
Rob Pelinka needs to pull the plug on Darvin Ham.
I hate him as a coach. He shouldn’t be in the NBA. He should coach in high school and learn the basics of the business, because those are the basics he’s always bad at…player matchups, turnovers, timeouts.
LakeShowYo @LakeShowYo
The Lakers’ starting lineup built a double-digit lead in 5 minutes, then Darvin Ham never put them on the line again pic.twitter.com/BhxEKONvxo
Italo Santana @BulletClubIta
Darvin Ham really let the Kings go on a 10-0 run and did NOT call a timeout.
????LakersGuru???? @GuruLakers
Darvin Ham: Calls a timeout when the Lakers lose the entire lead and are down by 2
Mike Brown: Calls timeout as Lakers cut lead to 13
????????????????????????????????
LakeShowHoopsᴾᴴ @LakeShowHoopsPH
*The opposing team is on the run*
Ryan Rueda @iDude14
“We have to understand this. To hell with the season series. We have to understand this.”
-Darvin Ham
They’ve already played 64 games and he’s still talking about understanding. . TF?!
???????????????? @SixthManJake
Darvin Ham: “We have to find a solution”
My brother in Christ, you coached this team for 64 games this season. Are you telling us you don’t understand anything?
HIMothy ❼ @TimmyLeTiger
Me every time Darvin Ham makes a stupid coaching decision pic.twitter.com/wZkDWH0gWF
™️_???? @Kind regards_m0n
I was watching Rui dominate the Kings and Darvin Ham decides to close the half with Dinwiddie pic.twitter.com/9KynMLjDBN
Lakers Loop @lakers loop
Darvin Ham prepares to spoil the Lakers’ comeback pic.twitter.com/6DapvnlzIx
????NBA•Fan???? @Klutch_23
“We came up with a plan to force Fox into his right hand and force Malik into his left hand.”
– Darvin Ham on his game plan.
This coach is a joke.
Lunaticø @LakeShow4Life9
Either the Lakers make the playoffs or Darvin Ham gets fired pic.twitter.com/ZULbzHpELH
Ham took over the Lakers before last season for the first head coaching job of his career, but he has yet to prove he can lead the team consistently. Los Angeles’ success has been due to the power of James and Anthony Davis, so it’s fair to wonder if Ham has had an impact on the team during his tenure.
Maybe the Lakers’ job is just too much for a new head coach to handle. As James approaches the twilight of his legendary career, there is a ton of pressure to compete for an NBA title. Under Ham, Los Angeles has a chance to be in contention for a spot in the play-in tournament.
The Lakers will try to bounce back Friday when they host the Milwaukee Bucks, with whom Ham served as an assistant before being hired in Los Angeles.
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