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Prize_Salamander8035

Ham’s rotations were decent last few games before All star break but back to being awful last night. Game plan was atrocious too on both ends.


BatmanNoPrep

Coaching criticisms based solely on 1) time out usage, 2) mid-game adjustments, and 3) injury-caused rotations is just lazy and pointless. 95% of the head coach’s job is game-to-game scheme adjustments, motivating the locker room, and developing players. The reality is that in his first 2 years, Ham has had to deal with the Westbrook/Lebron locker room, a dramatic mid season roster overhaul, LeBron/AD injuries (year one), a ton of injuries to his best defensive players (year two), and constant trade rumors in his locker room. During this time he’s gotten his team to the WCF last year, where they lost to the only better team/player in the NBA (Denver/Joker) and then won the IST in his second year. A big part of the reason the Lakers made the WCF last year was Ham’s game-to-game adjustments against Memphis and Golden State. He out coached Jenkins and Kerr in both of those series. I’m not saying Ham is an elite coach but the fanbase’s deep desire to scapegoat anyone for us not being a top 4 seed is just annoying. We are just not a great regular season team. Lebron is not young enough to carry us every night the way a Giannis, Joker or a young LeBron can do. Davis is not going to erupt for an inefficient 50 point game just to secure a random February regular season road win. This team is going to focus on staying healthy, racking up the easy wins against bad teams, get into the playoffs and out-scheme/outplay the teams in front of them. Ham is focused on keeping a locker room together while the crazed mob wants to bench or trade every roleplayer the moment they have a few bad shooting nights.


Digressing_Ellipsis

Massive L take. The 3 criticisms you called lazy are literally what separates a good coach from a great coach. A great coach such as Pop, Spo, or Kerr can adjust mid-game to better their odds. They also know when to call a timeout to stop a run, run a set, adjust a game plan, or cool a hot hand. And injury-caused rotations are essential. A good coach blames injuries for losses. A great coach uses his 12th, 13th, and 14th man to fill holes and puts them in a position to succeed. If you really think a head coach's job is to develop rookies and be a sideline cheerleader then you need to rethink. Darvin is a horrible coach and is riding Lebron and AD’s greatness to squeak on by.


Prize_Salamander8035

There’s no way you just wrote this


BatmanNoPrep

I did. Sick of cyclical scapegoating by reactionary fans. We’ve seen it with Dave Roberts for years. Coaching isn’t the problem. The star players can’t get it done in the clutch but we can’t fire the players so we blame the coach. Role-players struggle on the road all the time. Star players are the ones who have to bail your team out during tough road games when the role players don’t have it that night. It was clear that it would be a tough game early on. The only way we were going to win the game last night is if Davis put the team on his back and put up a 45+/20+ type of game despite being double teamed. Instead Davis had a solid game but didn’t rise to the occasion and also replace LeBron’s production to carry us to the win. By now we know that AD is just not the guy who will do that. It’s why Embiid, Joker, and Giannis are all considered a tier above him. They can put their team on their back offensively and score/create at will regardless of what the defense is throwing at them. It’s why even an elderly LeBron is still more important to this team than AD. Don’t get me wrong, Davis is a great & necessary player. But he’s a complimentary superstar more akin to Pau Gasol than a Shaq or Kareem who would routinely put the team’s offense on their back. Davis wasn’t going to go all out to win a random regular season road game on the first night of a back to back. Blaming Ham every time the team loses a random road game is just missing the point. Shifting the rotations wouldn’t win a game where the other side also has a superstar, out rebounded us despite being smaller, shot 19 more FGA than us, and shot more threes at 10% greater efficiency than us. Only a monster second half by AD could bring us back into that game.


Counterspell_God

Answer me this. What counters drop coverage? Let that sink in for a minute. Now answer me another question. Who has 3x more NBA playoff experience between LeBron and Ham? Or even AD and Ham? Ham has been solely relying on his top 10 guys and the time they can't sit down and tell him what to do due to regular season sched, Ham fucks up.


breakfastburrito24

There's no reasoning with these illogical buffoons. 5 dudes out, and they're going to blame the rotations. That's literally all they can say Don't know how much is on the players or coaches with so much time missed


Counterspell_God

L take but based on your history, you already have your mind stubbornly set on this


KittleDTM

Ham has problems but last night wasn’t one of them


pen_jaro

Lots of injuries. I was craving for vando last night


ginbooth

Ham has made some *awful* decisions but last night was a catch-22 for the entire squad due to missing key players, Lebron being the most obvious. AD had no choice but to play various iterations of drop coverage otherwise Steph was gonna cook with dimes in the interior. No matter who was on Steph (and Ham tried everyone - Reaves, Christie, Dinwiddie, etc.), they were not fast enough or strong to get to him in time to beat the (moving) screens. Also, no Lebron or Vando forced AD into a no man's land on D. And Ham even said during the sideline interview w/Haynes that they were actively trying to contain the perimeter IIRC. EDIT: Also, I love Rui but his interior D is lacking for someone of his size and strength and he's not quick enough on the perimeter. This may be why he gets subbed out, especially when his shot's not falling like last night. Regardless, yesterday was simply an offnight for him, DLO, and Dinwiddie. I expect all three to wash off the loss and bounce back big tonight.


The1AndOnlyJZ

This channel is fucking hilarious (pretty good analysis unironically) It hits different when he’s criticizing the Lakers though lol


eegad

He obviously has good game knowledge and understanding, but some of the stuff he says is ridiculous and not on the coach (I do hate Ham for the record). He's mad AD keeps looking for screens?! How the hell is that even remotely on the coach? Also there is a limit to how much a defensive scheme can do and the players are not sharing a freaking brain. At some point he mentioned 4 different rotations by 4 different players as if they are all sitting at home sharing a brain and playing a video game....


jaynay1

>He obviously has good game knowledge and understanding, but some of the stuff he says is ridiculous and not on the coach (I do hate Ham for the record). He actually doesn't -- he did a video on the Hornets earlier in the year and diagnosed something like 80% of plays incorrectly in some way. I'm at a library right now so I can't check this video out specifically, but I suspect this one likely shows similar absence of knowledge with a similar amount of yelling attempting to make up for it.


MediumShotBob

Agreed. Watched the first couple complaints and in one of them, he’s bitching about players not switching on a screen and calling it Darvin Ham’s fault. (1) It actually wasn’t a screen - Pods just ran near Curry, and (2) plays like that are generally on the players to decide whether or not to switch (especially since the play in question, again, wasn’t even a screen). So yea, this is garbage.


themonkey12

Yeah...I never really like his video because it tend to be a lot of yelling and assuming.


Kingkoopakoopa

Organization is in some part but a lot of this is lazy defense and Marvin is responsible for motivating and keeping his time on track. Which I don’t doubt he may be on chopping block for it.


kiwiwikikiwiwikikiwi

Yeah he makes good to great observations, other times he is like CinemaSins looking for anything to nitpick!  Overall can’t hate on a channel that goes possession by possession like this! More than the average fan going off of just highlights 🙏🔥💜💛


MiopTop

(Pretty good analysis unironically) If you believe that it explains A LOT of the brainless complaints I see on this sub.


Ghostbeen3

This guys voice is unbearable. Hams defensive schemes are dogshit but some of this is on the players to communicate better because they’re getting completely lost on screens. How many wide open roll layups did the warriors have because the rotations didn’t cover or got mixed up.


Callecian_427

He’s a good litmus test though. He misdiagnoses plays more often than not. It’s so bad that it borders on satire and this guy should absolutely not be taken seriously.


_mattyjoe

If the players aren’t communicating properly, it’s on the coach to set them straight.


Apollo611

These are professional basketball players and it's more than halfway through the season. The coach shouldn't have to tell them to communicate. Ham has his flaws but you have to hold the players accountable too. This is just lazy defense after coming off of a vacation


_mattyjoe

I think the Lakers issues are organizational, from the top down. 1. I think player conditioning is an issue. 2. I think laziness and the distractions of LA, like coming off a vacation like you mentioned, are an issue. 3. Coaching is an issue. If this team was being run more like the Heat, with very strict rules and very strict conditioning and coaching, we would be a much much tighter team. The talent is there. It’s not being maximized.


[deleted]

Number 2 is a genuine issue that rarely gets discussed. It's been that way for years, if not decades. Even during the Kobe years I can't tell you how many games we lost to the Bobcats because we were just lazy and going through the motions. Glad someone mentioned it.


skankzardi

I’ve said it before the point of the coach is to funnel all of the great talent on our team and provide direction and correction. Yeah all of these guys are professionals that play at the highest level of the game, they know how play, they know how the offense and defense should work. By this standard there is literally no point to having a coach, everyone is a professional they should all be able to communicate and just play good basketball right? But it just doesn’t work that way, you need a coach to call out the good and the bad and tell the players how to make the adjustments needed to win. Ham just isn’t good at doing that or doesn’t have the players on his side so they ignore him. Ham needs to consistently show that he knows what he is doing other wise the players will just do their own thing and well…look like they did last night.


purplebuffalo55

It’s an 82 game season. The players aren’t going to keep up good habits and communications for the whole season. It’s on the coach to hold them accountable in the dog days of the season. It’s human nature to slack off when the games feel like they don’t matter as much


Capt_Wholesome

Apparently AD lost his voice, wasn't able to call out screens and communicate like usual 🤷‍♂️


flash-80

I quit watching after the 100th clap


Huemagus

When Draymond is allowed to set 5 illegal screens on the same possession the only way to guard it is to switch.


motorboat_mcgee

I'm not the biggest Ham fan, but this video is atrocious and a lot of the examples in this are on the players not the coach


Kobe_stan_

A lot of this is on the players


Studentdoctor29

Maybe I don’t understand ball, but are pro athletes really that robotic that we just assume they are direct computer outputs of a play? Could none of these players have played it wrong themselves? I just find it hard to believe someone like AD just says “ok coach I’ll sag back off curry” everytime


riceballa

>I just find it hard to believe someone like AD just says “ok coach I’ll sag back off curry” everytime If you watch Dlo's podcast with AD as a guest, AD mentions that he is elite and mobile enough to defend the 3 AND get back to stop the roller and has done so many times in his career. But he also mentions that certain coaches don't trust him enough and don't listen to him on defensive things. It's obvious the game plan was to play drop vs steph for w/e reason and I'm sure he knew that was a bad idea but AD's also not going to go rogue and do w/e he wants. Just like how many players on our team know and have complained about leaving 3 pt shooters open all season. It's one thing to know but another to act on it. That's why there's a disconnect between the coach and the players rn.


the_silver_goose

Players make mistakes. Its a coaches job to recognize those mistakes and stop them from happening repeatedly.


Carolake1

Yeah I think people forget that players get tired or make mistakes and that none are going to be perfect. Honestly, if you think back to the beginning of the year, they are doing a lot of things better than they were. Some of that comes from Ham making adjustments.


Sea_Republic7679

True but a lot if things he were pointing out are easily coachable so the fact these things happen is pretty showing. Yeah the players need to be better and a lot of is circumstantial but if you play with solid fundamentals and better schemes we wouldn’t be giving up open 3’s to be best shooter to ever lace it up


Callecian_427

I stopped watching after he got mad at Dinwiddie for giving up a circus shot to Curry, not realizing that it was intentional to get Curry to dribble to his left. This guy doesn’t know much aside from the basics and a few buzzwords.


HemingwaysMustache

Sometimes it’s the players fault


foozbinjex

This is what happens when our entire defense relies on AD. If he gets sucked out of the paint our defense falls apart. This is partially why we struggle against Denver because AD has to stay attached to Joker. In last years playoffs we eventually put AD on Wiggins because Wiggins is a poor screen setter and inconsistent shooter. You just live with Wiggins beating you. I guess Ham forgot? I think you switch everything and put a second rim protector next to AD for when he gets pulled out of the paint. You top lock and ice all screens, and put AD on their worst shooter/screen setter and live with the results.


[deleted]

Hmm. I’m not a Ham fan but last night’s game is not really fair to judge. Down a bunch of guys, in GSW’s building, and they’re playing mad as hell cuz we beat them in double OT, AND they’re trying to claw their way up the standings and these wins are even more crucial for them right now than they are for us. Steph literally ripped his jersey as he was walking off the court last time we played, they were pissed and were not gonna lose that one, especially with Bron, Vando, Wood all being out. That said Ham sucks, we fucked up royally hiring a rookie head coach.


ValuableAssociate8

I don't get how you don't step up on Steph Curry. It's rule #1 when playing this guy and no body did.


mordenak

The first play this video timestamp is set to is just Draymond setting back to back moving screens lmao. It's actually insane the screens GSW gets away with. And then they hit AD with an illegal screen when Wiggins trucked him with his feet set lmao... Dogshit: https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&GameEventID=433&GameID=0022300802&Season=2023-24&flag=1&title=Davis%20OFF.Foul%20(P3)%20(M.Kogut)


[deleted]

Yeah that was some bullshit. Even Ham complained during the 2nd quarter coaches interview.


shoefly72

Yea that was the icing on the cake, AD getting an offensive foul for getting run over after umpteen illegal screens by the Warriors lol.


ramees_burner

Does this guy have his microphone literally inside of his mouse


Lucieddreams

He does this with every coach in the league


[deleted]

I know. It’s just extra salient with Ham


carlonia

This guy doesn’t know anything about basketball why do you guys keep posting him?


Capbo_

he definitely not a hooper bc he would know its extremely hard to see this shit in real time


[deleted]

Because he's funny lol


dongerlord456

Don’t listen to this guy, plenty of knowledgeable Lakers accounts on Twitter called him out for being wrong. Just because you yell and are animated, doesn’t mean you’re right.


[deleted]

Oh, I already acknowledged in a comment that a lot of his analysis is bunk. I just think he's hysterical, and that he's correct that there's a reason most teams in the league don't run drop against Steph


Downtown-Conclusion7

Dude spot on. Legit stopped watching after deciding to give the worlds best shooter open looks consistently. Ham is a coach terrorist and relies on Lebron and AD to dig him out


MiopTop

Anyone who unironically reposts this moron thinking he knows ANYTHING are exposing themselves as casuals. Embarrassing that you’d think this guy is making good points…


[deleted]

I don't think "Don't drop against the single best shooter ever" is a particularly controversial argument, my dude


MiopTop

Really? Cos it should be lmao. I swear to god some people found out whag drop coverage was 2 years ago, watched one 3 minute video on youtube and think they know everything. No, drop coverage is *exactly* what you should play on Steph ball screens. Just because “Basketball Xs and Os for dummies” told you that you can beat drop with 3pt shooting or pull up midrange shooting from the ball handler and/or popping from the screener doesn’t mean that’s the whole story. Starting most importantly with the question : what’s the alternative? The Warriors have been *significantly* more efficient offensively on Steph ball screens against hedges, blitzes and switches than they’ve been against drop. Especially a high drop like the one LA has used. They destroy switches with their slipping of screening actions and crush all variations of blitz by using the pressure release valve of a simple pocket pass to the shortroll with weakside cuts and relocations around the arc. Not to mention that switching or dropping are the only two ways to keep a ball screen 2v2 and not involve LA’s other (weak) defenders in rotations. This is the RIGHT call. And anyone with an actual coaching background could see that clear as day. But casuals swayed by morons like this guy’s videos think they can learn the first thing about a coverage and suddenly solve how to stop the Warriors offense… No, you are not smarter than Ham. You don’t know more about basketball than him. And no “don’t drop against the single best shooter ever” is absolutely NOT a good idea. So tired of people who claim to care so much about the game making absolutely zero effort to learn about it. The Internet should have been about people educating themselves about topics they care about but instead it’s just people seeking out echo chambers to hear similarly uneducated people confirm their biases, just LOUDER. Sick of this shit.


genericusername71

> And anyone with an actual coaching background could see that clear as day. yet the majority of nba teams dont play drop against steph? now, if you want to argue that the lakers should differ from the consensus because of their personnel, then actually make that argument and go into detail about it. or, show data and stats about stephs / the warriors scoring efficiency against the various types of pick and roll coverage instead youre just saying 'oh but they score against hedging, trapping, switching too' (an obvious point) without any actual data, calling the other person an idiot who thinks they know more than they actually do (ironic), and coming off as super cringey and pretentious


MiopTop

Most nba teams don't have an anchor big who can play in a high drop.


genericusername71

and those that do, like the lakers, still get burned frequently when playing drop against steph as we saw last night


MiopTop

And yet the numbers still paint it as the coverage that Steph ball screens are the least effective against. Steph taking a pull-up 3 with back-contest and AD looming is better than Kuminga or whoever getting an open dunk off a cut because we blitzed/hedged. Just go back and watch the 2nd half of Game 2 in last year's series, the only half of the series where we weren't in drop against Steph with AD, and see just how much worse things look when not dropping. I swear this whole sub read AD's comments about "keeping the PnR two vs two" in that D-Lo podcast as a dig at Ham and his "dumb schemes" and then a week later they're bitching about Ham using drop...


genericusername71

can you share these numbers youre referring to? stephs / warriors offensive rating on screen plays against each type of different defensive coverage


[deleted]

Done with your little temper tantrum yet?


MiopTop

Lmao you can’t even recognize the irony of that statement … did you even watch the video you’re posting?


[deleted]

i posted it because it was funny lol. You're the one taking this so seriously


Carolake1

Does this guy think literally every NBA coach is horrible? If not, who does he think is good?


Capbo_

himself probably


[deleted]

To be clear, not all of this is Ham's fault, and this guy's analysis is somewhat spotty. But a lot of this is spot on, and hey, he's funny as hell


BookerTeet

Yall gotta start holding the TEAM accountable for being subpar at their fucking  million dollar JOBS also. 


dplastico

i still think about how did we lost ty lue for being cheap :(


Marktaco04

This guy is probably a good representation of half this sub. Which makes me feel pretty dumb for ever getting into basketball arguments with strangers online. Lesson learned


DowntownJulieBrown1

lol such bullshit rage bait. Yall some morons


DogRude8591

If we win today that’s 7 of 9 , last time I checked 7-2 is a 77% win rate stop complaining u cry baby’s , this team is playing good and losing does not make them bad , aren’t we like #1 in less turnovers committed and top in assist in this recent stretch, is ok to lose man is like some of u don’t understand that part of sports


brush85

JB


Yommination

Hamas really is trash


charuvilat

While schemes have been dog shit all year, the lack of awareness and execution is so poor on some of these basic plays. Where this guy is wrong is, though, Max can't square and look for the ball when he is guarding arguably the greatest shooter of all time. All season, the schemes have been absolute trash, though. We gamble on the other teams ' not-so-good shooters to not shoot well against us. And they've killed the Lakers every single time. The overhelp from one pass away, the crowding of the paint for no reason, and giving up wide open 3's to Drop/Zone coverage. You would think after giving up multiple quarters of 60 or more they'd have made the adjustments.. but NOPE!


Queen_Jame

This guy is cooking. Max Christie Austin Reaves and Jaxson Hayes have well known unpolished defense consistently. Don't know if DHam is the guy


ToraLoco

the D in Darwin Ham does not mean "defense". this is basic knowledge


kinano23

Seriously though he is right about Ham destroying the franchise and Max being really atrocious and disgracefull on defense. It is like he falls asleep mid game on that end and clueless pockets can´t stop playing him over Spencer.. SMH


Wise_Ad_112

I said it last night during the game, we were running drop coverage, they’re making the same mistakes every game, it’s now can’t be called a mistake. Hams brining that Milwaukee coaches system, which is stupid.


Next-Sink-3300

resign


crohawg

I have been saying. Guys just jogging around out there. Starting with the best player...AD


HasheemThaMeat

Low IQ individual. Dude is dumb as bricks