EL SEGUNDO – On one hand, Darvin Ham allowed himself one massive sigh of relief on Thursday afternoon.
The Lakers coach breathed a little easier once he learned that LeBron James, his 37-year-old franchise centerpiece, didn’t suffer any tear when he limped off the court grabbing his groin on Wednesday night against the Clippers. An MRI revealed a left adductor strain, which is less serious than what the team might have originally feared.
“ I’m sure it’s painful,” Ham said. “Doubtful, day-to-day, whatever – I’m just happy there wasn’t anything torn.”
But that doesn’t mean the immediate future gets any easier for the 2-9 Lakers. With James – who showed up to practice in a long left leg sleeve and black slippers – listed officially as doubtful for Friday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, a team already on the rocks must find its way forward without its leading scorer.
Losing four straight hasn’t exactly built confidence that the Lakers are built to withstand any star absences. But the eternally optimistic Ham suggested that his team’s Thursday practice had an upbeat energy.
“The vibes were good,” he said. “Eleven games in, we got 71 games left. I mean we just gotta do what we can do, control what we can control, try to have a positive outlook on things and take everything day by day.”
Aside from James’ absence, the Lakers would like to focus on building their defense back to the way they started the season. In the first seven games, Ham said, they were third league-wide in efficiency; in their last four, they’ve been 30th.
The Thursday film session highlighted this distinction, both with analytics and clips. When thinking about their second quarter against the Clippers, one in which the Lakers closed a 17-point gap and outscored their hosts 31-16, Troy Brown Jr. admitted he’s wondered why that effort hasn’t carried on.
“When I’m watching film I’m like, ‘How do we make that contagious? How do we continue to play like that and make that something that’s an every night, every quarter-type of thing?’” he said. “So you know, we’re still figuring out the rotations. Guys are still coming in and out and we’re dealing with some injuries and stuff. But at the end of the day, it’s on us and we gotta be accountable and as a team, come together and make sure we’re on top of that.”
If James misses time, the biggest question is how the NBA’s last-ranked offense (103.2 off rating) makes up for losing nearly 25 points per game. On Wednesday night, Davis said he would have to be more aggressive on offense, like his game against Utah when he scored 29 points. Brown said he thought Russell Westbrook and Davis showed good chemistry in their two-man game when they played without James in Salt Lake City on Monday.
The slow start has also raised dialogue about the Lakers’ options to improve the roster outside of internal development. Bleacher Report reported Thursday that James “does not want to waste a season of his high-level playing days” to wait for 2023 for more help to contend. James and Davis have made comments openly critical of the season’s roster, and neither has played up to their championship level to this point, either.
While Ham made comments about the roster makeup on Monday, on Thursday afternoon he suggested he’s not worried about the possibility that his group could get shaken up.
“It makes me want to coach this group even harder,” he said. “All the other stuff, it will take care of itself. I can’t control that. So, what I can control is the guys that are in that locker room, the style of play we’re playing, the way we need to defend, the way we need to share the ball and give ourselves an even better opportunity to score the ball.”
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