Darvin Ham addresses Lakers’ loss vs. Trail Blazers

The Lakers continue to struggle to get much-needed wins. Most recently they fell against the Trail Blazers (115-127).

Portland, led by Damian Lillard’s 40 points, made 23 of 47 three-pointers, while Los Angeles scored just 12 of 37 theirs.

Despite the loss, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham was proud with how his players fought in this game even though they could not make shots.

“They were making shots and we couldn’t make any,” Ham said. “First half 36.5% from the field. It’s tough. That barrage of threes, man, it’s tough to overcome. My hat’s off to them.

“With Anfernee and Dame they’re… it’s hell of a two-headed monster. But they also had some other guys that played really really well, shot the ball really well.

“I’m proud our guys they just didn’t roll over, continued to compete even though the things were not going so well for us offensively. We tried our best and switched up some coverages but just competed all the way through the end.”

Ham was then asked if the roster changes affected the sense of urgency that the Lakers emphasised before the trade deadline.

“It’s human nature, especially the nature of the game where you got someone that’s on fire, a team that’s on fire led by Dame,” he said. “I think he was 8/12 in the first half.

“And then other guys trying to shift and be active off the ball. You got those guys knocking down threes too. And then on the other end you can’t make a shot, you can’t throw it in an ocean.

“So, it’s human nature to kind of drop your shoulders a little bit. We tried to fight through that urge, just a disappointment. But again, credit to them, they moved the ball well, had bunch of guys shoot the ball really really well. Great job by them.”