SUMMARY
- The Los Angeles Lakers are currently facing a challenging season, standing at No. 10 in the Western Conference with a sub-.500 performance.
- After the recent loss to the Miami Heat, LeBron James exhibited unusual behavior in the locker room.
The Los Angeles Lakers are standing at No. 10 in the Western Conference after their humbling loss against the ‘not-healthy’ roster of the Miami Heat on January 4, 2023. The team is under the .500 performance percentile as compared to all the other franchises in the league. While that’s a worrisome stat for the Lakers, the recurrent loss is just adding to the stress.
LeBron James and Co. have lost eight of their last 10 games, as well as their last three overalls. The team was 106-108 against the Timberwolves on December 30, 109-129 against the New Orleans Pelicans on December 31, and 96-110 against the Heat. There’s no denying the fact that NBA insiders are poking around for a scoop on whether the spot of Laker’s head coach can witness a new face this season if this record continues or not.
There’s a “deepening disconnect” between Darvin Ham and Lakers locker room stemming from extreme rotation and starting lineup adjustments, per @ShamsCharania and @jovanbuha pic.twitter.com/xTySfQqVwE
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 4, 2024
In a recent video on ‘Hoops Tonight,’ Jason Timpf was joined by Jovan Buha of ‘The Athletic,’ and there were some major revelations made on the show. As Buha uncovered his recent encounter with the Lakers in the locker room after the loss against the Miami Heat, James sent him a subtle message.
Buha revealed how, when he and his team were let into the locker room and were talking to Anthony Davis, LeBron James demonstrated unusual behavior. To Buha’s surprise, even though James’ locker is just beside AD’s, James volunteered to make no contact with the media but just dressed up and left.
Jovan Buha took this behavior into account and said, “It just doesn’t make sense that we need to talk to them, but for most nights they’ll talk with us. LeBron’s been great with the media throughout his whole career, so to me, that was a message of where LeBron is right now in terms of how he’s feeling.” Does this unusual behavior by James point toward the fact that the Lakers are frustrated with Darvin Ham?
Are LeBron James and Co. frustrated with frequent changes in lineups?
Jovan Buha didn’t shy away from accepting that ‘The King of Longevity’ is very adjusting when it comes to getting a statement post-game. However, since LeBron shunned the media after the third consecutive loss, Buha explained his understanding of the situation. As per Buha, while Darvin is fixated on the issue of reviving the previous lineup of Jarred Vanderbilt, D’Angelo Rusell, and Austin Reaves, the players seem frustrated with the ever-changing lineup.
When Timpf asked Buha about whether the players were disgruntled by the way the team was performing, he later spilled the beans. Buha said, “The biggest thing has been the lineups and the rotations, and they’ve had 10 starting lineups this year.” Reiterating the same fact, he revealed how the last three games witnessed three different lineups, and still, the team is not clear with their best starting five. Since the players are not able to get enough repetitions in a single lineup, frustration is building up in LeBron James and Co.