Locked On Lakers podcast is your daily ticket to stay ahead of the game and the first to know the latest news, analysis, and insider info for the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA. Hosts Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, who have covered the Purple and Gold since 2005 for media outlets including the LA Times, ESPN and The Athletic, offer traditional journalism, informal commentary, and offbeat humor to provide expert, local analysis. Locked On Lakers takes you beyond the scoreboard for the inside scoops on the biggest stories from within the Lakers locker room and all over the NBA. The Locked On Lakers podcast is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.
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episode 1585: The Lakers Lose to Sixers, as Darvin Ham's Coaching Decisions Under Fire
All things considered, the Lakers played a pretty good game Sunday. LeBron James, who crossed the 38K threshold for career points, was excellent (35/8/10/1/1 on 15-24 shooting). Russell Westbrook was (for the most part) good until the last 14 seconds. (More on that in a minute.) The Lakers got contributions from Wenyen Gabriel, Troy Brown and more as they went toe-to-toe with one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference before losing 113-112.
But that final possession was as bad as any possession can be. With 14 seconds remaining, the Westbrook rebounded a Joel Embiid miss, and pushed the ball up the court. Darvin Ham elected not to call timeout. Westbrook never gave up the ball, dribbling down the clock trying to break down Embiid. In the end, it was hard to tell if the thing Westbrook kinda sorta threw up near the bucket was a pass for Gabriel or a shot (Westbrook for his part focused more on the fact he thought he was fouled doing whatever it was he was doing).
James never touched, or even threatened to touch, the basketball.
And that, unquestionably, was the main topic of conversation following the game. There is a school of coaching philosophy that says it's better to let play continue than give coaches and opportunity to make substitutions, set a defense and so on. The Lakers, though, have been a horrible late game team, with bad execution, particularly in the context of open court play. So is it best to have these guys just free flow, especially as Westbrook finds himself one-on-one against one of the league's best defenders?
Ham's choices are getting much more scrutiny these days, especially after he admitted he should have tried to get the ball out of Luka Doncic's hands before the Dallas star pushed Thursday's game into OT, a game the Lakers would eventually lose.
LeBron was visibly frustrated after the game, off the floor and in the tunnel before Russ was even up off the ground on the final play, then giving short, curt answers to the media in the locker room. All of that, because he's LeBron, will be noted and discussed.
Finally, when is AD coming back? He was on the floor doing some light work Sunday... but running or jumping.
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