Since taking over as the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coach prior to last season, Darvin Ham has been looking to make his team one that is defensive-minded and one that wins by shutting down opponents.
While the Lakers had some success in that department late last season, they have regressed lately, despite some outstanding play from superstar big man Anthony Davis.
On Thursday, they lost to the Golden State Warriors 128-110, and they were riddled by the Warriors’ pick-and-roll actions, which resulted in too many good looks for Stephen Curry.
Afterward, Ham revealed that the team’s defense was poor because Davis had lost his voice.
Anthony Davis isn’t speaking with the media tonight because he lost his voice, per the team. Darvin Ham said postgame that Davis’ voice affected his ability to communicate defensively tonight.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 23, 2024
Davis has become much more vocal since coming to the Lakers in 2019. He is their defensive backbone, and he has done a good job of barking out defensive instructions to his teammates.
He is averaging 24.9 points on 55.3% shooting, 12.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.5 blocked shots per game. Against Golden State, he blocked three shots while scoring 27 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
On Friday, he will face a real challenge when the Lakers host the San Antonio Spurs and 7-foot-4 rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama.
