Lakers News: Darvin Ham Confident Lakers Will "Keep Stacking Winning Habits"
Your Los Angeles Lakers will be spending 16 of their next 22 contests on the road, where they are 0-5 on the year.
But over the last week or so, with LeBron James unavailable due to a left adductor strain, it does seem like L.A. may have turned a corner, realizing what Anthony Davis can do (dominate with bully ball in the post, thrive with lots of touches, defend at a high level) and what he cannot do (shoot a jumper outside the post), which lineups around him work best, and which role players the team can lean on. The team is currently riding a three-game win streak for the first team this season.
First-year L.A. head coach Darvin Ham spoke with reporters following Davis and the Lakers' latest triumph, a 123-92 massacre of the visiting San Antonio Spurs at Crypto.com Arena.
Ham noted specifically how Los Angeles has been growing en route to a 5-10 record (not great, but a lot better than 2-10 prior to this streak!):
"Just guys learning each others' tendencies," Ham said. "No matter what, we just [have] got to build and keep stacking winning habits. Irregardless of a referee call or something like that, just getting on to the next play, having a next play mentality... Being organized offensively and just being competitive defensively. And it's been fun to watch. Getting Dennis and Thomas back, I think, was a huge shot in the arm... AD is playing out of his mind."
He is indeed. Across the past three contests, Davis has scored 30 or more points and grabbed 16 or more rebounds in each. No Laker not named Shaquille O'Neal or Elgin Baylor has ever achieved this before.
Can Davis do this for a fourth straight game tonight, this time against a legitimately semi-All-Star caliber big man in Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton? We'll find out.
