Some call it the game of the year. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 145-144 in double overtime after two LeBron James free throws. NBA fans watched history in the making as LeBron and Stephen Curry combined for 82 points.
This was no ordinary January basketball game and Lakers fans are hoping that this will be the starting point for the rest of the season. A big win like this can help right the ship, as the Lakers are having trouble maintaining a .500 record despite having a mostly healthy LeBron and Anthony Davis on the season.
Head coach Darvin Ham has become the biggest culprit for the team’s problems, as his lineups and rotations have seemed out of reach. Fans are not the only ones who feel this way, however, as LeBron sent a loud and clear message to Ham after the game with his comments about which Lakers line-up works best.
LeBron James sent Darvin Ham an obvious message about the Lakers’ lineup:
As we all know, LeBron is very deliberate when speaking to the media and this is another example of that. LeBron is simply summing up the fan base that has been waiting for Ham to return to last year’s starting five that led the team to the Western Conference Finals.
Ham teased earlier in the season that he would return to that lineup, but ended up putting Taurean Prince in the starting five. Prince started Saturday’s win over the Warriors, but the noticeable difference was how Ham managed his minutes.
Ham actually held Prince accountable for his poor play (and let me tell you, it was very poor) and only played him 24 minutes in the game. Meanwhile, Jarred Vanderbilt got 41 minutes after averaging just 19.6 minutes before Saturday night.
It was clear to the fans that Prince was overused, and LeBron only confirmed that hypothesis. The Lakers are better with Vanda on the floor and Prince on the bench; just look at the difference in Saturday’s plus/minus. Prince had -22 points, Vanderbilt had +30.
Ham has stuck to his ways so far this season and hopefully these comments from LeBron will put pressure on the head coach to make an obviously needed change.