On Friday, it was revealed that the top Los Angeles Lakers decision-makers are on head coach Darvin Ham’s side when it comes to unexpected issues that have developed between him and star Anthony Davis.
Following another loss in Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, Lakers star Anthony Davis took a surprising shot at his head coach. Claiming there were stretches of the game when he and his teammates were not aware of what they needed to be doing. Suggesting the loss was a failure of the coaching staff.
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In response to Davis’ comments, Ham chalked it up to “frustration” and said he would “agree to disagree.” It was just the latest instance of a disconnect in an up-and-down journey the LA head coach has had with his players in his first two seasons on the job.
However, despite rumors he could be ousted this season, there have been continuous rumblings that the Lakers front office and majority owner Jeanie Buss are fans of Ham. That idea was cemented on Thursday when NBA TV reporter Jared Greenberg revealed the organization were actually very upset with Davis’ comments and seemed to be in their coach’s corner on the situation.
Los Angeles Lakers front office were angered by Anthony Davis’ comments after Game 2?
“I can tell you, from speaking with people within the Lakers’ organization, they were upset and disappointed, quite frankly, by AD’s comments,” Greenberg said. “Publicly going out there, and putting his coach out there like that, particularly because the Lakers clearly had a good enough understanding of the game plan Monday to take a 20-point lead.
“And remember, part of that game plan was AD going 11 for 12 from the field in the first half, and then in a crucial fourth quarter AD went 0 for 1.”
The Lakers have long been a player-first organization, so the fact that they are more in the corner of a coach who has delivered mixed results in two seasons compared to a player who helped lead them to their most recent championship in 2020 is a departure from their traditional position in situations like this.
Things have likely not gotten any better after the Lakers suffered a third straight loss in Game 3 of the series by a score of 112-105 at home on Thursday night. The team returns to the floor for a must-win situation on Saturday at 5:30 PM PT on ABC.
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