Lakers News: Darvin Ham Bemoans Friday's Botched Mavericks Bout
Last night, your Los Angeles Lakers fell to the visiting Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena, 111-110, thanks to a last-second, buzzer-beating three-point make by wide-open Maxi Kleber.
Anthony Davis had been covering Kleber, lightly, during the possession, prioritizing floating near the elbow rather than blanketing Kleber at the top of the arc, a 36% three-point shooter on 3.0 attempts this season.
LA head coach Darvin Ham broke down the last play, and determined the most likely cause behind LA's latest loss, which drops its record down to 34-37.
""I mean he got pretty much a line drive pass to Kleber but he started torching us a little bit down the stretch, thus our decision to start blitzing and double-teaming him. We made it difficult, tried to be as active as possible, and he found the open guy. We didn't get there fast enough. AD had a last-minute, outstretched contest," Ham recalled. "At the end of the day, NBA players are highly talented, elite skill level. But you've got to make more of an emphasis. You really have to control what you can control. And I thought we weren't disciplined in certain stages. We fouled -- had some really bad fouls, fouling shooters."
"Also we did the job we [sought] out to do every game, and that's win the free throw line. We got 31 attempts but you've got to make more than 19. We make our free throws we're probably not having this conversation," Ham noted.
LA next suits up tomorrow against the Orlando Magic, continuing a five-game home stand.
Are you following us on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube yet? Join the conversation as we discuss the latest Lakers news and rumors with fans like you!
