The Lakers needed to prove themselves after going winless. The Los Angeles Lakers, the last winless club in the NBA at 0-5 before Sunday, got their first victory under first-year head coach Darvin Ham with a 121-110 victory against the Denver Nuggets.
Ham Made The Following Postgame Observation
After the game, Ham commented, “We wanted to show something to ourselves tonight.” You needn’t tell anybody. To the media, no. I was very proud of how we reacted when we had to prove it to ourselves.
The postgame press conference with Ham was delayed because he needed to change clothes. Ham’s first victory was marked by a baptism of fire, with his teammates dousing him with water bottles and ice buckets.
“Very lovely little bath,” Anthony Davis, a big man for the Lakers who missed one game with lower back discomfort, said after he scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in his return. “As far as a coach is concerned, he’s done all we could have asked for and more.
All of us deserved it, and it felt great to help him celebrate his first victory in charge. He gave a speech, and the crowd was like, “All right, Coach, we don’t care what you’re saying,” before they doused him with water.
The rest of the Lakers looked like the Splash Brothers while Ham was being drenched. After the worst 3-point shooting start to a season in league history after five games, L.A. went 8-for-16 from deep in the second half and finished 13-for-30 (43.3%) overall.
“I simply feel like there was a little zip to the ball. Men weren’t hesitating to make direct contact, kick deep, or look for open shooters “Quote from Ham. “As I’ve said from the beginning, shots will be fired. Sooner or later, our attack will match our defense.”
LeBron James scored 26 points to lead Los Angeles, and he dished out eight assists. Russell Westbrook scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds and assists in his second consecutive solid bench performance.
Davis Lauded Westbrook For “Doing Everything The Team Wants”
Davis praised Westbrook as “really a person doing everything the team asks to achieve a victory,” noting that “to be a player of his level and asked to come off the bench” was a rarity.
“Let him sit out for the sake of the team rather than risk losing his starting spot. In this position, he has thrived. The best we can hope for is that. Just keep doing what you’re doing, man, I urged him.
What you’re doing is just incredible. He has been unremarkable in the previous two games. Happy for him.”
Westbrook passed the hat, giving praise to contributors like Lonnie Walker (18 points) and Austin Reaves (10 points) for their roles in the Lakers’ game-changing 17-0 run that covered the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter.
Westbrook has remarked, “I enjoy watching my teammates succeed.” “Throughout my professional life, nothing has brought me more satisfaction than witnessing the success of others around me.
All you can want is to see people making shots and competing, and that’s exactly what you got tonight.”
There’s a long way to go before Los Angeles can rest easy, what with their record of 1-5 and 14th place in the Western Conference.
Even though Davis was able to play 37 minutes against Denver despite his back injury, he said that he is still experiencing pain.
Davis, who also claims to be in a “fair amount” of discomfort, stated, “One day feel terrific, then the following days I [only] feel all right.” To that end, “try to observe what occurs, attempt to control it, and maintain receiving therapy.”
Finishing Line
After a two-day break, the Lakers will face the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, the club that knocked them out of the playoffs in a play-in game last year, led by Zion Williamson.
The Lakers want to recapture the same team spirit they showed against Denver, and maybe even build on the spirit of togetherness inspired by James’ annual Halloween costume party on Monday.
James emphasized that everyone had the same goal in mind: victory. The team comes first, so we can’t take it personally whether folks’ numbers are called or not.
Even if their names weren’t called as often as they once were, the men that remained ready tonight were still tuned in and cheered on the group that was in there. That sums up the squad well.