Lakers’ Achilles’ Heel: Darvin Ham’s Dilemma Of LeBron James-less Minutes Worries Veteran Analyst

Published 04/15/2024, 6:31 AM EDT

Ahead of the Lakers’ crucial Play-in game, popular sports presenter Colin Cowherd revealed a massive loophole in the roster. The LA side has had a hot and cool run throughout this season, struggling with inconsistencies. Despite that, the team’s superstar LeBron James continued to carry the team, averaging 25.7 points per game. However, Cowherd pointed out the team’s ‘big problem’ during the Bron-less minutes on the court.

In the latest episode of The Colin Cowherd Podcast, the 60-year-old analyst didn’t hesitate to point out the team’s imposing problem of lack of shot makers. Apart from that, he also made a stinging statement about the much-debated Lakers’ coach, Darvin Ham. He added, “When the Lakers made that Russell Westbrook move… They got size, but they didn’t get any shot creators… Darvin Ham is a little tone-deaf offensively… When you when you don’t have LeBron and Austin both on the floor, there’s not a lot of shot creation.”

In fact, Cowherd also stated that he would only form opinions after he has watched the game, live in-person. After watching one of the LA Lakers‘ recent game, he criticized Ham for his player rotation. He added, “AD didn’t play. Austin and LeBron at one point we’re off the floor… DLo kind of waits for you to get him a shot. This roster has no shot creators”. He also argued that the team can’t expect LeBron James to play 40 minutes to orchestrate the game.

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The Lakers traded away Russell Westbrook ahead of the 2023 trade deadline for D’Angelo Russell. Even though D’Lo‘s trade has an offensive advantage. It brought down the play-making prowess that Russ carried. In the 130 games that Russ played for the Lakers, he averaged 7.3 assists per game, which was more than James’ average of 6.5 assists per game. However, the 4x champ increased his numbers since Beastbrook’s exit, averaging 8.3 assists this season. Additionally, Austin Reaves supported him with 5.5 assists per game.

On the other hand, Ham faced a ton of criticism throughout this season, over the team’s earlier losing streaks and controversial timeout calls. Amid these concerns, Cowherd put forward an important loophole ahead of the playoffs.

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Will LeBron James & Co. cross the line with the imposing loophole?

The Lakers had a teaser of what to expect in their Play-in game against the New Orleans Pelicans. LeBron James took care of the Zion Williamson threat, guarding him and restricting him to under 12 points with 4-13 FG. On the other end, the superstar dropped 28 points along with 17 assists and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, the rest of the team could only make 15 assists.

Speaking of tonight’s game, Cowherd heaped praise on the team for bringing in the playoff intensity and for making the Pelicans work for their points. He said, “It was just a physical mismatch… they were getting great passing, great ball movement.” At the same time, he dropped a reality check. He added, “You can’t ask a guy in year 21 to be the shot creator. The playmaker.”

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Above all, he concluded by taking the blame away from Darvin Ham. Cowherd said, “To me, it won’t be Darvin Ham. It’s just, it’s a roster reality.” While the Lakers have no time to rectify their loophole, they need to rely on the same formula to seal the 7th spot.

Will the Lakers beat the Pels again to get the playoff spot? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by:

Shahul Hameed is a Senior NBA Writer at EssentiallySports. Armed with a Master's Degree in journalism from a distinguished institute, his journey into sports writing began during his college days, and since then, Shahul has been captivated not only by the remarkable consistency of Stephen Curry but also by the enduring legacy of LeBron James. He specializes in covering the live basketball action.

Edited by:

Saumya Khanduja

Lakers’ Achilles’ Heel: Darvin Ham’s Dilemma Of LeBron James-less Minutes Worries Veteran Analyst

Will LeBron James & Co. cross the line with the imposing loophole?

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