Lakers News: Darvin Ham Previews Next Matchup Against Red-Hot Clippers
The 2023-24 NBA season has been a strange one for your Los Angeles Lakers. It's almost been like a roller coaster for them, but somehow they've found ways to take down some of the better teams in the league.
This includes the rival Los Angeles Clippers, whom the Lakers have beaten two times in a row this season. With the third matchup on tap for today, the Lakers know it won't be easy.
Los Angeles head coach Darvin Ham broke down how he wants the Lakers to come out against the Clippers, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.
“I always say it: [It’s] how we want to present ourselves to the other 29 teams, regardless of who we are playing,” Ham said. It’s “us establishing an identity on both sides of the ball. Us knowing the type of standard that we need to set in order to be successful. And that involves, obviously, you do your game planning and you do your scouting and seeing what these other teams, specifically the Clippers, our next opponent, are going to try to throw at you."
Slow starts have doomed this Lakers team this season, and Ham knows it. If they can come out with energy, it could lead to another win.
The Clippers are far too strong of a team to be in deficit of, so the Lakers will need to bring their A-game if they want to win. They are a great team on both ends of the floor, and the Lakers could have their hands full.
“But all in all, aside from that, I think the top priority for us is to really come out and start to establish a consistent manner in which we want to play," Ham said. "How we want to defend consistently night in and night out, and how we want to attack offensively and keep those core principles on both sides of the ball intact, regardless of who the opponent is."
The Lakers have the personnel to get the job done, but they just have to execute their game plan. Bragging rights will again be on the line here, and both teams know what is at stake.
