Feb 14, 2018; Detroit, MI, USA; Atlanta Hawks assiatant coach Darvin Ham smiles during the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers’ new head coach Darvin Ham had these words to say about Russell Westbrook.
The Los Angeles Lakers had recently announced the hiring of Darvin Ham as their new head coach. Ham was the assistant head coach at the Milwaukee Bucks last season. The entire Lakers’ fan base is pretty happy with the appointment of Darvin Ham as their new head coach.
Ham had his first press conference as the head coach of the Lakers. He was asked about multiple things. When asked about star player Russell Westbrook, who hasn’t been treated well by the fanbase, Ham was quite optimistic in his answer.
He said, “Don’t get it messed up, Russell is one of the best players our league has ever seen, and there’s still a ton left in that tank,” Ham said. “I don’t know why people tend to try to write him off…Russ and I have had some really, really great 1-on-1 conversations, and the biggest word that came out of those discussions was sacrifice.”
Ham added, “We’re gonna sacrifice whatever we have to do, and it’s not just Russ. There’s gonna be sacrifices LeBron has to make, that A.D. has to make, all the way down the line of the rest of our roster.”
The LA Lakers had one of the worst defenses in the league last year. They lacked effort, and as a result, young teams were able to run them out of the park. Darvin Ham has straight away made it clear that his first priority will be to improve the team’s defense.
The new Lakers’ HC said, “Defensively is where you’re going to see us make our biggest leaps and bounds, We have to commit to the defensive side of the ball or we don’t have a chance to do anything. The offense won’t even matter if we don’t get stops.”
With the way Darvin Ham presented his ideas in the first press conference, things are looking bright for the Lakers. He still needs to work on being able to find a solution to fit Westbrook in their plans just like he said because if Russ is able to play well, this Lakers team can win the Championship next season.
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