4:1, no matter how hard the Lakers tried, they couldn't change this result, and they could only watch the Nuggets step in front of them and move towards the next round of the series.
The results of this season also show that the Lakers' recruitment last summer was a failure, because in the end, the players introduced were basically useless, and they still relied on the team from last season.
After the series, although James did not make any remarks, his youngest son, Leibbs James, reposted the video mocking Hamm, and did not shy away from his "dislike" for Hamm.
Little James's attitude can also reveal Lao Zhan's attitude from the side, otherwise, he would not blatantly mock his father's head coach like this.
Of course, there is a reason why Hamm is so "targeted".
As the most controversial person, Lakers coach Darvin Ham is likely to not be able to stay, after all, his coaching performance this season is really poor. The Lakers will play in the play-in tournament this season, and he will definitely be responsible for facing the Nuggets' repeated reversals.
Ham inexplicably experimented with various lineups in the first half of the season, but ended up using last season's regular rotation — Russell, Reaves, James, Hachimura and Bushy — in the end.
This caused the Lakers to lose their record advantage in vain and were forced to fall into the play-in zone. If Ham had used this roster from the start of the season, the Lakers would have undoubtedly won a few more games, and could have locked up a playoff spot and even become a Western Conference seed.
According to Shams' report, dissatisfaction with Ham erupted within the Lakers because the Lakers' 20-point lead was reversed by the Nuggets in Game 2.
Even if the Lakers were finally eliminated, Ham did not reflect on the team's rotation and his own tactical arrangement at the first time, but complained about "health".
"Stay healthy, stay healthy. You've got a lot of criticism for the way you rotate. But rotation is secondary. Health is a priority. Health is the greatest asset. ”
But the question is, even with the players, can the Lakers' coaching staff, led by Ham, really put out effective starters and rotations? If they could, the Lakers would not have tried the lineup for so long without the slightest effect, and even ended up sacrificing the record.
Thick eyebrows, Russell and others have long revealed their dissatisfaction with Ham's inability to stabilize the lineup and make rotation arrangements in interviews.
Russell: "We often do a lot of things, we make adjustments and then we start from scratch. A lot of what we're doing at the moment is unfamiliar to us. We're not going to prepare for Jokic every game. So for us, it's a process of constant trial and problem-solving.
"We've proven what we're capable of, but we didn't know what to do on both ends of the pitch for a while. ”
But, as always, Ham pushed back against the crowd's thinking, arguing that the Lakers' coaching staff "has always been very talented and proud of themselves." Hamm even defined the dissatisfaction of the thick eyebrows as "frustration".
Oppose the player's remarks and ideas anytime, anywhere, all the time. If it sounds good, it is called ruling the army with an iron fist, and if it is bad, it is called Yiyantang. Obviously, Hamm did not have the means and ability to rule the army with an iron fist.
Eliminated from the series, the Lakers' scars have been lifted, while also proving the failure of the season as a whole.
Add to that the retention of James, and Los Angeles will have a tumultuous summer in June. And the first chapter of the turmoil may be Hamm's dismissal.