Darvin Ham reflects on LA Lakers’ OT loss to Boston Celtics - “It’s a make or miss league, so you have to make or miss it”
LA Lakers head coach Darvin Ham addressed the team's flaws following their loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. With the Lakers suffering a tough defeat in overtime, Ham recalled his team's shortcomings in the crucial moments of the game.
The LA Lakers haven't been in their best form this season. While they covered significant ground after a disastrous start, the Purple and Gold still find themselves five games away from .500.
After ending their most recent road trip with a 3-3 record, the Lakers hoped to win at home. However, playing against one of the best teams in the East in the Boston Celtics presented a tall task.
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Surprisingly, the Lakers managed to hold their own against the Celtics for the most part. A game of shifting momentum saw both teams take and give up massive leads. This paved the way for OT.
Unfortunately, the Purple and Gold came up short in the crucial moments of the game. As fatigue kicked in for Anthony Davis and LeBron James, the Lakers caved in the last few minutes of the game. This allowed Boston to pull away.
After what can be considered a heartbreaking loss for the Lakers, head coach Darvin Ham addressed the team's shortcomings at this crucial juncture. Ham fetched a question regarding the momentum shift in OT. He responded by saying:
"It was just different situations where we're trying to force feed the ball to our main guys and they collapse and crowd them. Ball gets spread around and guys get left and it's a make or miss league, so you have to make or miss it. Those are good looks."
"The biggest thing is, once we go back and look at the film, is to see if we can get a second or third action quicker. That doesn't mean that the ball won't come back to the person we want to have it. But just get to things quicker."
Ham then added a small segment about how fatigue affects a player's performance late in the game:
"It's tough. It's a hard fought game. Guys are fatigued. To gen up that pace like that - we're human. You're gonna need breaks."
"It sucks, man. I'm so disappointed that we didn't close that out. But we'll get better from it." Darvin Ham on tonight's loss. https://t.co/hTgwK4Lzzc
Ham's comments reflect the idea behind the game plan. Unfortunately, these ideas haven't been executed quite as consistently. Considering the team's loss against the Philadelphia 76ers in OT as well, the Purple and Gold continue to look fatigued and disgruntled down the stretch.
The LA Lakers' come up short once again
The sight of the LA Lakers losing isn't unfamiliar at this point. However, the nature of the losses does raise some cause for concern.
The game against the Boston Celtics witnessed two major shifts in momentum. After the Celtics opened up a 20-point midway through the third-quarter, the Purple and Gold mounted a furious comeback to tie the game.
This first wave of momentum allowed the LA Lakers to take the lead. However, this effort was matched by Boston, who led a comeback off their own. With a two-point lead in the dying seconds of the fourth-quarter, Anthony Davis missed two crucial FT's. This paved the way for Boston to tie the game with 17.1 seconds left on the clock.
The story follows the same track as Boston built off the Lakers' shortcomings in OT. However, the cause for concern appears to be the Lakers' execution in late-game situations. With missed free-throws in end-of-game situations and defensive lapses becoming the norm, the LA Lakers may be back on the verge of forming a losing habit.
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