
Kyle Terrada-USA TODAY Sports
Head coach Darvin Ham has seen how vulnerable his roster is as he and the Los Angeles Lakers have dealt with several injuries over the past few seasons.
Players have been moving in and out of the lineup, making it difficult for Ham to establish a consistent rotation and substitution pattern. Lakers players have missed the sixth-most games due to injury this season, with essentially every player in the rotation missing at least some amount of time.
However, the Lakers were fortunate to have LeBron James and Anthony Davis relatively healthy during the regular season. James has played in 50 of the Lakers’ 58 games so far, while Davis has appeared in 54.
Things haven’t always gone well this season, but Hamm knows things could have gotten much worse and how grateful he is to the team’s star players for keeping the team afloat. It was stated that the
“I think that’s a sign that Bron and AD aren’t contributing much to that ranking (lol). Let’s just say it,” said Ham, whose Lakers hit .500 despite missing all games due to injury. He talked about going beyond. “Our two big dogs have been taken care of for us for the majority of this season, and we thank God for that. It’s frustrating because it changes so much what you can do without it, your playing time, how you set up your rotations, your matchups, your defensive scheme, everything else. Deal with intangibles and offensive rebounds and get deflections. It puts a lot of pressure on the lineup.
“But with that said, everyone in the locker room, when they’re available, they do a great job with a next-man-up mentality and give it their all, whether it’s all out or on.” I would also say they fought.” Even though they have a time limit when they’re on the floor, they compete at a really high level and try to play the right way. Therefore, we are sitting where we are, despite circumstances beyond our control. ”
Hamm added that he wouldn’t be surprised to see James play so much despite his age.
“Not much. When I watch him work, I’ve been able to watch him from a distance for years, but I don’t see much detail, just the amount of time he spends on his body and… There were only reports about resources. But having spent two full seasons with him in less than a year, you can see how much effort he puts into it.
“Everything is calculated and planned throughout the day, whether it’s nutrition, sleep habits, non-game days or game days. His whole preparation and recovery process is not surprising at all.”
James returned against the San Antonio Spurs, and if he stays, he and Davis could push Los Angeles to the playoffs.
Lakers’ Darvin Ham says Anthony Davis is holding up well physically
Davis has missed four games for the Lakers so far this season, and Ham said he is feeling well physically despite dealing with various ailments listed on the injury report.
“He’s handling it well,” Ham said of Davis’ injury. “I looked at him and said what are we going to do? He nodded at me and gave me a salute. I mean, he’s in a good place mentally and mentally. Of course, We think things should get better and we want them to get better in terms of our positioning, but we definitely have a fighting chance and there’s definitely a big light at the end of the tunnel. Yes. We just have to put it all together. Get some bodies back. He’s done a phenomenal job of taking care of himself and being able to play at a very high level on both sides of the ball. He did that for me.”
Davis has been a key player for the Lakers all year, so it’s imperative that he stays healthy.
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