Lakers News: Darvin Ham May Not Coach In Warriors Game
We already knew All-Star Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James would sit out tonight's nationally broadcast TNT matchup against the Golden State Warriors with a left ankle peroneal tendinopathy, but now it appears that LA may be missing its coach, too.
The Los Angeles Times' Dan Woike reports that the Lakers are hoping head coach Darvin Ham, who missed an LA team practice on Wednesday due to an undisclosed personal issue, will be able to coach at the Chase Center Thursday.
Should Ham not be available, longtime Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy (who's been floated as a potential Ham replacement by Vegas oddsmakers) makes the most sense as a substitute on the day.
The Lakers are 30-26 on the year, and currently occupy the Western Conference's ninth seed. Tenth-seeded Golden State is 27-26 (the NBA postponed a few of the team's games after the sudden passing of assistant coach Dejan Milojević at a team dinner). Both clubs, former Western Conference semifinals nemeses a year ago, now find themselves clawing to stay alive in the play-in bracket. This is a pivotal game for the Warriors and Lakers as they jockey for position, with the postseason approaching.
Here's hoping that whatever personal issues Ham might be dealing with are resolved quickly!
