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Lakers: LA Fans Annihilate Darvin Ham's Coaching Choices In Portland Loss

It's not... entirely unwarranted criticism.
Alex Kirschenbaum|
Lakers: LA Fans Annihilate Darvin Ham's Coaching Choices In Portland Loss
Lakers: LA Fans Annihilate Darvin Ham's Coaching Choices In Portland Loss

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Los Angeles LakersPortland Trail Blazers

Last night, your Los Angeles Lakers fell behind big to the Portland Trail Blazers in the second half of the game's first quarter, and basically never recovered. LA surrendered 23 triples to Portland and eventually fell 127-115, a final margin that was much more innocuous than the actual damage done in the game's meaningful minutes (basically its first three quarters).

Lakers fans did not take kindly to a lot of head coach Darvin Ham's decision-making throughout the game, starting with his dogged loyalty to minimum-contracted Dennis Schröder, who scored two points on 1-of-7 shooting in 29:40 while starting alongside D'Angelo Russell. Shooting guard Malik Beasley, a much better hypothetical fit alongside Russell, scored 22 points in 21:14 from the bench.

Eagles center Jason Kelce's national anthem Super Bowl reaction was employed in response to Ham's double-point guard starting lineup choice:

Other fans pulled no punches:

Ham was specifically criticized for a total lack of defensive adjustments as Portland rained threes upon them (17 in the first half, to be precise).

It was all pretty darn befuddling.

His strategizing overall was questioned mightily, with a chuckle-inducing visual aide:

Other fans have given up on Ham's reputation as one of the league's best assistant coaches and tacticians, which had been the word on the street before his hire this summer:

A few fans drew their own conclusions about just how involved Ham actually was with the Bucks' title-winning team success:

A Rui Hachimura stan account (apparently such a thing does exist) pointed to Ham as the main cause behind the Lakers' woes.

The name of a certain unfairly booted ex-LA head coach was invoked tonight:

I must have overlooked this anecdote but, uh, it isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for Ham's ability to make second-half adjustments against the Trail Blazers (from a Dave McMenamin piece):

Ham's strange commitment to de-prioritizing defense or size on the perimeter is certainly bizarre. Here's hoping he rethinks his rotation choices.

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Alex Kirschenbaum
ALEX KIRSCHENBAUM

Currently also a scribe for Newsweek, Hoops Rumors, The Sporting News and "Gremlins" director Joe Dante's film site Trailers From Hell, Alex is an alum of Men's Journal, Grizzlies fan site Grizzly Bear Blues, and Bulls fan sites Blog-A-Bull and Pippen Ain't Easy, among others.

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