"We executed it": LA Lakers HC Darvin Ham defiant in defeat, defends failed gameplan vs Warriors
The LA Lakers fell to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday (134-120) in a crucial game with seeding implications in the Western Conference. The Lakers were without their defensive stalwart Anthony Davis. They struggled to slow down the hot-shooting Warriors all night. Golden State scored 134 points and hit 26-of-41 3-pointers.
Despite the poor defensive performance, LA Lakers coach Darvin Ham opined that his team had executed their game plan. He said that they did what they set out to do before the game:
“They had guys step up and hit shots. It's a make-or-miss league... We feel comfortable with our gameplan and for the most part we executed it... the guys you wanted shooting the ball made their shots... they were blazing hot,” Ham said.
In light of Ham's point, Draymond Green went 5-of-7 from downtown out of nowhere ending with 15 points.
Andrew Wiggins also hit a couple of big perimeter shots going 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Rookie Brandin Podziemski went 3-for-3 from downtown. Gary Payton II went 2-for-3 from 3-point range off the bench.
Even though it was many of the unlikely subjects hitting shots from deep that ended the Lakers, the Splash Brothers got plenty of looks too.
Steph Curry went 6-of-6 from 3-point range and 7-of-9 from the field for 23 points. Klay Thompson got his too, going 5-of-10 from downtown, ending up with 27 points.
Will the LA Lakers make the playoffs?
With the loss to the Warriors, the Lakers have an uphill battle to get out of the play-in tournament. They are now ninth in the West with two games left.
They have a 0.5-game lead over the Warriors. They are 0.5 games behind the eighth-ranked Sacramento Kings and 1.5 games back of the Phoenix Suns in seventh.
All four teams are chasing the New Orleans Pelicans in sixth. The Lakers are 2.5 games back of the Pels. They need the Pelicans to lose their final three games and then get lucky with tiebreakers to end up in the top six.
The Lakers are more likely to play for the seventh seed. This will see them host their first play-in game. A win will put them automatically in the playoffs. A loss will mean they get a second chance against the winner of the 9 vs 10 game. This scenario seems most likely for the celebrated team at the moment.
The LA Lakers need to win their road games against the Pelicans and Grizzlies this week. LA will also hope to avoid the Denver Nuggets in the first round as they swept them this season and in last year’s conference finals.