In an incredible situation, Los Angeles had the Lakers leading by scores in a second playoff game of the season versus the Denver Nuggets, but they eventually lost to a maddeningly thrilling defeat. Notwithstanding that some experts attribute the Lakers’ demise to several different causes, head coach Darvin Ham’s decision to put the team in a second-half collapse is what played the main role. Here are three critical mistakes made by Ham during the game: Here are three critical mistakes made by Ham during the game:
Mismanagement of Spencer Dinwiddie’s Minutes:
Even though Spencer Dinwiddie might possess defensive talent, his slow speed, his absence of speed, and his low level of practice became visible throughout the match.
Ham’s decision on Dinwiddie’s playing time, allowing him to gain the majority of the remaining minutes during halftime when the Lakers’ lead started to fade, ultimately had a detrimental effect on the match outcome.
Succeeding Laker’s Gabe Vincent and Reaves can be an option, along with Dinwiddie, to improve this game. Managing the changes in the minutes of Dinwiddie could be a successful power so that it can be altered in favour.
Timing of LeBron James’ Rest:
Ham showed that he did not care for how LeBron felt by only giving the ball back in the third quarter and then letting him play on the court when they needed him to.
The oversight of Jimmy relinquishing Miles during long periods progressively made James tired during pivotal points, especially at the beginning of the fourth quarter when Nikola Jokic normally takes a rest.
The management of game time for James, including the use of smart time off intervals or good timing, can help avoid fatigue and maintain the Lakers’ momentum for the rest of the game.
Deviation from Effective Offensive Strategies:
The constant disparity in the pick-and-roll play that the Lakers rely on heavily, which is quite a deadly offensive weapon, in the last phases of the game was probably one of the factors that led to the state of disarray and imbalance on the offensive side.
In the course of some time, the Lakers, who once had pick-and-roll actions that gave them success, now opt for bad isolation plays that dim their offence and stagnate it.
Ham failed to translate the Lakers’ strengths into downplaying the opponents’ areas of strength and also faced little challenge while adjusting to defensive adjustments, which was the major reason for ending up playing the Nuggets.
However, in addition to not doubling-teaming Jokic in key moments, the Nuggets’ titles shot multiple times from single coverage with success, which came in extremely handy towards the end of the game. Even though we found their defence of Jokic to be hard, some changes could significantly interrupt his offensive streak and turn things in a good direction.
Primarily, there was a poor strategy displayed by the Lakers, some miscalculations of the rotation of the players, not taking advantage of the offensive strength, and defensive negligence, which accounted for the loss in game 2, wherein there was a massive whitewash of Lakers. Finally, by putting this matter into the context of the playoffs, Darvin Ham’s should make an effort to improve the deficiencies and make a comeback in the next game.
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