Darvin Ham received high praise for his playoff adjustments during the Lakers’ run to the Western Conference finals. He also deserves plenty of praise for being as blunt and candid as any coach in the NBA while addressing hot-button topics that people badly want to hear more about.
The proof of that comes from his interview with Marc Stein and Chris Haynes on the #thisleague UNCUT podcast, where the Los Angeles coach addressed a broad range of topics. One that jumped out in a big way was what Ham had to say about former Lakers guard Russell Westbrook, what he told him about the drastic role change to bring the nine-time NBA All-Star off the bench, and the magnitude of praise he had for him.
Ham started by giving Russ a shoutout and praising the 34-year-old for “taking a bullet” for the Lakers by making the change and coming off the bench.
