Only 2 hours have passed since the Lakers lost, the team's infighting has escalated, the American media exposed the locker room quarrel, and it is suspected that head coach Ham is dissatisfied with Russell's mistake in receiving the ball at a critical moment, and James is involved!
Text: Lao Kan Kanqiu
Editor|Lao Kan Kanqiu
The NBA regular season continues with the Lakers playing the Kings on the road, and the 38-year-old James celebrates another milestone in his career – the 20th anniversary of his debut. This match not only has a special meaning for James, but also attracts attention because of the fierce confrontation shown by the two sides. In the end, after a fierce competition in overtime, the Lakers unfortunately lost to the Kings by 5 points.
It was a very intense game between the two sides, with almost every player playing their best. James was even more courageous, and he did his best to score 27 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and eight turnovers in 39 minutes. Although he had eight turnovers in the game, his game-winning layup at a crucial moment gave the Lakers the last chance. James, who is nearly 40 years old, has given his all to get such stats, and we can't ask more of him.
However, the Lakers' overall performance was not as good as it could have been. In particular, the three-point shooting rate was so bad that the team missed many opportunities at critical moments. Although substitutes Wood and Hachimura performed well in the game, they only got very little playing time. The two players combined for 22 points and 11 rebounds in this game, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from the field. However, head coach Ham doesn't seem to recognize their outstanding performance, and it is really incomprehensible to insist on using small lineups such as Vincent, and it is no exaggeration to say that the number one sinner in the Lakers' loss is undoubtedly head coach Ham.
In overtime, Hamm's on-the-spot response and use of personnel appeared to be very inadequate. He doesn't seem to have found an effective strategy to deal with the changes on the pitch or make reasonable use of the team's substitutes. Despite James' best efforts, the Lakers ultimately lost the game.
So far, the Lakers have lost two of their three games in the new season, and such a record is obviously not satisfactory to the fans. In his post-game interview, James pointed out bluntly: "We did put Hamm's tactics in place and there were good chances, but we couldn't shoot. Indeed, in this game, the Lakers shot only 15 of 45 three-pointers, shooting less than 34 percent, and many large open three-point shots were missed, which is really not deserved.
As the team's head coach, Ham also criticized the team's shooting performance, saying: "We had some great open shots. We will practice once a day (twice on weekends). ”
However, some players do not seem to agree with head coach Ham's criticism, because Ham's problems are also very big, and the contradictions within the Lakers have finally erupted. According to local media in Los Angeles, less than 2 hours after the end of the game, there was an argument in the Lakers locker room.
According to insiders, the suspected head coach Ham was dissatisfied with Russell's mistake in receiving the ball at a critical moment, and did not agree with the shooting choice at a critical moment, so the two broke out into a fierce quarrel. Insiders said James was also in the locker room at the time, and he has been trying to ease the emotions of both sides, but it doesn't seem to be working.
It has to be said that such internal contradictions have filled the future of the Lakers with more uncertainty, and the overall performance of the Lakers and head coach Ham's employment strategy are regrettable. If the Lakers want to do better in future games, they need to find more effective strategies to deal with changes on the court and make better use of the team's bench players. At the same time, the Lakers also need to find a way to resolve this contradiction and get back on winning track as soon as possible.