The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping that a coaching change will help them make it back to the playoffs this season. In that sense, it's clear that their new head coach, Darvin Ham, has some lofty expectations surrounding him as he enters his first season at the helm of the Lakers.
Ham built a reputation as a strong assistant during his time with the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and many wondered whether he would bring some of the concepts that the Bucks used to help them win the 2021 NBA Finals with him to Los Angeles. But with training camp underway, Ham made it clear he wouldn't be focusing on what worked with the Bucks as he attempts to establish his own system that will work for the Lakers.
“I wasn’t going to dare show any Milwaukee Bucks clips,” Ham said Tuesday after the Los Angeles Lakers’ opening training camp session. “I’m a Laker. A Laker through and through.” Ham plans to be the coach of a Lakers team that strings together stop after stop, his top priority in turning around a group that ranked 21st in defensive rating last season. “We want to contain, contest and control,” Ham said, explaining the defensive vision he presented before practice.” – Dave McMenamin, ESPN
This is probably a good move by Ham, as showing highlights from Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks probably wouldn't go over too well with star players such as LeBron James and Anthony Davis. And even then, what worked for Milwaukee may not necessarily work for Los Angeles. Darvin Ham is going to need to figure out a system that works for the Lakers rather than one that works for the Bucks, and he made sure to let everyone know that was his game plan heading into training camp.
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