I’m just not a Darvin Ham fan. Our team was playing like trash up until the trade deadline last year, and finally we got some decent complementary players to put around Bron and AD, and a little bit of health down the stretch last season. They were able to sneak into the playoffs and go on a little bit of a run. But so far this season, the injuries are back, and Darvin Ham I think is way overrated as a coach. We’re seeing it game to game. He doesn’t make the right in-game adjustments too often, and it’s costing the Lakers opportunities to win close ball games.
The biggest problems are the Lakers offensive execution and rebounding. Teams are beating the Lakers on the glass nightly, which is inexcusable when you consider how big the Lakers are. Lakers seem to lose the 50/50 balls more often than not, and always seem to get outhustled by opposing teams.
Plus, I’ve noticed every team is attacking the Lakers with the same defensive strategy. Ball pressure on our wings, and our perimeter players either don’t have enough quickness, or are just not aggressive enough to beat defenders who are overplaying them. This is where the Lakers miss somebody like Schroeder, who is lightning quick, and would instantly punish defenders who try to play up close on him.  Schroeder would get into the paint, and wreak havoc all game long. D-Lo does not do this enough, does not show that quickness enough. Austin Reaves he’s not getting the same space to create like he was last season. That’s why it was always Schroeder and Reaves on the court at the end of games last season because they complemented each other much better than D-Lo and Reaves do.
This is also why the Lakers have been so horrible when LeBron James is not on the court through the first 8 games. It’s because LeBron is the only guy who is showing the capability on this team to consistently beat his man off the dribble and get to the hole.
Without a great backup 6th man like Schroeder, this Laker roster has some serious weaknesses. The key players they lost during the off-season is hurting them so far this year, plus all the injuries to start this year. I’ve said it a few times before, and I’ll continue to say it. It’s going to be another frustrating season of Laker basketball.
