“We have a trade every day” - Lakers star cuts disappointing figure following dismal start to NBA season
The LA Lakers continue to struggle early in the season and have now lost three in a row after their blowout defeat to the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Wednesday (94-128). The Lakers have won only three of their first eight games and are in search of consistency.
Coach Darvin Ham and his players are trying to figure out how to build chemistry, but injuries have prevented them from having a full roster available for practices and games.
"Every day, we have a different lineup, we play with different guys, new guys come in. It's almost like we have a trade every day, you know?" star forward Rui Hachimura said, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Hachimura missed the last four games with a concussion and returned to the lineup Wednesday, going for 24 points and eight rebounds on 10/14 shooting.
In Houston, the Lakers were forced to play without Anthony Davis (adductor, hip), Jaxson Hayes (ankle), Jarred Vanderbilt (heel) and Jalen Hood-Scifino (knee), as all were out with injuries.
The limited rotation is a problem for Ham and the Lakers, who are still trying to find a way to win through the struggles. They now head to Phoenix for their NBA In-Season Tournament opener versus the Suns (4-4), where Davis is expected to return.
Darvin Ham and players frustrated amid Lakers injury woes
Since the start of the season, the LA Lakers have been dealing with injuries to key players. Their injury woes and current losing skid have caused frustration to the players and the coaching staff, who can't work the way they want without all players available.
LeBron James spoke about the issues this has caused after the loss to Houston:
"I mean, we can't build cohesion if we don't have our unit. It's that simple. It's just, we're very depleted on the injury side."
Darvin Ham also shared his thoughts:
"We're juggling different circumstances -- guys being in and out of the lineup. But at the end of the day, no one is going to feel sorry for you, especially when you're a Los Angeles Laker."
Still, though, the 17-time NBA champions are trying to stay calm and play through struggles without using injuries and lack of chemistry as an excuse.
"I think we just need to relax and figure out where the root of where we're going to start trending in the right direction," D'Angelo Russell said, via ESPN.
"And I think getting healthy first is one. Two, just playing for one another. I think that's the first start: having that mentality we're going to play for each other and just make things easier for each other."
The Lakers end their four-game road trip with the game against the Suns on Friday and will return to Los Angeles for three home games next week.