Darvin Ham and the Los Angeles Lakers have been in the news quite a bit in recent weeks. However, it has been for all the wrong reasons.

Since claiming the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament championship, the Lakers have posted a 4-10 record, falling to 18-19 on the season. While they did pick up a much-needed victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night, ending their recent four-game losing skid, the Lakers have been on the verge of internal collapse.

Many have been calling for Ham's departure as a result of the team's struggles over the last few weeks and the head coach's future in Los Angeles has suddenly drawn league-wide speculation. Following their loss to the Grizzlies on Friday night, Ham told reporters that he is “tired” of people “living and dying” with every game that the Lakers play. He also stated that the NBA season is a “marathon” and that the team was simply going through a rough stretch.

On Sunday night after beating the Clippers, Ham seemed to add some context to his recent comments that went viral.

Darvin Ham provides context

Every team and every coach in the NBA wants to win. When you lose, sometimes the heat of the moment catches you at a bad time. This seems to be what happend with Darvin Ham when he said what he did after the Lakers lost to the Grizzlies this past Friday.

Sunday night's victory gave Ham a chance to expand on his recent comments further, providing insight as to the true meaning of his words.

“I don't think anyone sets out to fail. And things you say get taken out of context, but essentially what I'm saying is if anyone learned anything from last year, it's that this thing goes in stages, right? And I know we're the Lakers and I embrace it, I don't run from it,” Ham firmly stated, via Lakers Nation's Daniel Starkand. “I just want us to be great. And it takes time to be great, in the moment.

“This has been a great franchise the best in the league. The work we put in has to lead towards something and sometimes there's gonna be a few bumps in the road. But the totality of everything we're doing in the short-term and getting to a big picture, it's a process. You're gonna have some valleys and you're gonna have some peaks.

“Our thing is to get stronger as the season goes on.”

The Lakers are always held to a higher standard than every other NBA team as a result of their successful lineage and history. Ham understands this, which is why he provided further context into his comments of everyone being up in arms about the team's recent losses.

Even with all the outside noise suggesting that he should be fired, Ham took a moment to joke around.

“I don't know,” Ham responded when asked how he knows if he's on a valley or a cliff, via ClutchPoints' Michael Corvo. “I guess the velocity with which I hit the ground.”

Regardless of how fans feel about the team's recent performances, the Lakers still believe in Ham as their head coach. Defeating the Clippers has put the Lakers back in the win column and everyone can a take a deep sigh of relief for the moment. Inside the locker room, it still appears as if Ham has the confidence and backing of his players, which is the most important aspect of all. Christian Wood still supports Ham and understands the pressure that comes with being a Laker.

“I don’t think he pays any mind to it,” Wood said on Friday night regarding the outside noise requesting Ham's departure. “[Los Angeles] is the number one market arguably in the NBA, so all that is going to come. Trade talks, firing—all this is gonna come with being a Laker, wearing that jersey, and being the head coach of this team.

“I don't think he even  pays any mind to it. He stays positive. Me and him stay in communication every other day. He's good.”