Lakers News: L.A. Fumbled Darvin Ham's Game Plan For Lasting Success Vs. Mavericks

L.A. has looked terrible without Anthony Davis.

Your Los Angeles Lakers have looked like a totally different team without All-NBA center Anthony Davis.

L.A. just dropped its fourth straight contest last night in a marquee Christmas Day matchup, a 124-115 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks.

Though the club got off to a hot start through the first two quarters, heading into the halftime break up 54-43, Los Angeles lost its momentum in the game's second half.

It turns out the team had actually talked about avoiding a second-half letdown ahead of the game. But that sure didn't translate to L.A. being able to counter a 51-point third quarter outburst from Dallas.

Following the bout, L.A. head coach Darvin Ham spoke with gathered media about the team's struggles maintaining its energy through both halves of basketball on Christmas.

"We talked about before the game just being able to initiate, sustain and finish with energy, effort and competitiveness and we left it in the locker room at half time." Darvin Ham on the #Lakers energy down the stretch. pic.twitter.com/lVMP6Y32EO

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 25, 2022

"We talked about before the game just being ready to initiate, sustain and finish with energy, effort and competitiveness and we left it in the locker room at half time," Ham acknowledged. "It's a 48-minute game. You expect a team like Dallas -- the type of talent they have over there, the shooters, Luka -- they're a cohesive group. We knew that they were gonna dig in a little bit and try to make plays. They adjusted, didn't run as much pick-and-roll with Luka, put him in the post. At the end of the day we have to be locked in."

"But my hat's off to them. They shot the ball well. The same shots they missed a lot in the first half they made in the second. Again, we have to know that it's a tale of two halves, but it's a 48-minute game, it's not a 24-minute game. We kind of took our foot off the pedal defensively, obviously."

Here's hoping they'll put the pedal to the metal tomorrow when the 13-20 Lakers get a shot at redemption against a team with a similar record, the 13-21 Orlando Magic.