Lakers Injury Report: Darvin Ham Blames Practice Issues On Health

Darvin Ham's excuses continue.

The Lakers are currently just under .500, sitting at 21-22 just over halfway through the season. 

A lot is to blame for their underperformance, but unlike years past, injuries are far less responsible for their struggles.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been the healthiest they've been since the team's title run in the bubble, and both are producing at or near All-NBA levels. 

Some role payers have been banged up, as the likes of D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Rui Hachimura have all missed pockets of time. 

With that being said, teams deal with countless injuries – most of the time more serious than what the Lakers have experienced. Their being slightly banged up is no excuse for their utter disappointment of a season. 

Head coach Darvin Ham, however, thinks otherwise:

Darvin Ham on how health has been a challenge: "It makes it damn near impossible to have a practice." #LakeShow @SportingTrib

— Lauren Jones (@LoJoMedia) January 20, 2024

As the team has apparently struggled to have practices, one can argue that their atrocious offensive efficiency (23rd in the league) can be attributed to that. That said, when you have the talent this team does, you should be able to work around it, just like other teams with less talent do.

It sounds a lot more like an excuse from Darvin Ham than anything else, as LA's relative health should act as enough of a cushion for them to be above .500. 

As I mentioned previously, numerous teams throughout the league have been banged up the whole year, missing players far more important to them than Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt are to the Lakers. 

LA has also displayed its ability to beat good teams, having picked up wins against the Thunder and Mavericks in a row. Seemingly, the team can survive without practice, eliminating the validity of Ham's excuse. 

We'll see how much longer the front office buys that as a buffer for the team's struggles.