As much as Ham is liked personally by the organization — and this columnist — the truth is that the Lakers have not only been outplayed by the Nuggets, but Ham has been outcoached by Malone. “We’ve got to come with competitive pride … that’s all we should be concerned with, coming in here Saturday, having competitive pride,” Ham said Thursday. That competitive pride in Game 4 will be challenged by competitive chaos. If they get swept, it could be Ham’s last stand, and the players surely know it, because all signs have been pointing to it. Ham will be cited as the reason for this quote by LeBron James, who finished Thursday’s game with three turnovers and several other miscues while appearing weary in several long stretches. “We come out in the third quarter with not much energy or we can kind of lose track of rotations and detail that we had in the first half,” James said. “I think a lot of that played into it.” -via Los Angeles Times / April 26, 2024
LeBron James on being down 3-0 vs. Denver: ‘You play until the wheels fall off’
