Lakers News: Darvin Ham Is Thankful For The Health Of Anthony Davis & LeBron James For The 2023–24 Season
Having battled with several injuries over the previous two seasons with both the Los Angeles Lakers and himself, head coachc
has seen personally how delicate his roster can be.
It has been challenging for Ham to develop a consistent rotation and replacement routine since players have been coming and going from the lineup. This season, Lakers players have missed the sixth-most games due to injuries, with nearly every member of their rotation missing some time.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis, however, have been lucky for the Lakers to remain somewhat healthy during the regular season. James has been available for 50 of the Lakers’ 58 games thus far, while Davis has participated in 54 of them.
Although this season hasn’t exactly gone well, Ham acknowledged that things might be worse and expressed gratitude for the team’s stars’ ability to keep them afloat.
That, in my opinion, is proof that Bron and AD didn’t actually influence that rating (laughs). Ham stated, “To put it simply, the Lakers are over.500 despite all the games they have missed because of injuries.” We are grateful to God that our two large dogs have been there for us for much of the season. That being said, it is annoying because, in addition to changing the amount of minutes played, your rotation, matchups, defensive schemes, and everything else, it also affects your ability to employ intangibles, offensive rebounds, and deflections. It demands a lot of your starting lineup.
“Having said that, I will also add that, when they have been available, every player in that locker room has done an excellent job of playing with the next man up mentality. Whether they are fighting for a minute or all out, they are giving it their all when they are on the floor, and they are truly attempting to play the right way and compete at a high level. We therefore sit where we sit despite all of those uncontrollable factors.
Ham continued by saying that, given James’ age, he is not shocked to see him play so much thus far.
Not really, though. If you look at his work, I’ve been able to see him for years from a distance, but I wasn’t able to see all the details—I was just able to see what was written about the amount of time and money he spends on his body. However, you’ve been with him for two full seasons now, and you’ve seen the amount of effort he puts in.
Ham continued by saying that, given James’ age, he is not shocked to see him play so much thus far.
Not really, though. If you look at his work, I’ve been able to see him for years from a distance, but I wasn’t able to see all the details—I was just able to see what was written about the amount of time and money he spends on his body. However, you’ve been with him for two full seasons now, and you’ve seen the amount of effort he puts in.
Despite having a number of illnesses that have put him on the injury list, Davis has only missed four games for the Lakers this season, according to Ham, and he’s doing well physically.
Regarding Davis’ ailments, Ham remarked, “He’s managing it well.” “I just shouted what’s up to him when I saw him, and he nodded his head and saluted me. He is therefore in a healthy mental and spiritual state. We all agree that things ought to be better and that our standing could be improved, but we still have a good opportunity and a bright future ahead of us—all we need to do is put everything together and bring some bodies back. He’s played at a really high level on both sides of the ball and has done a fantastic job of taking care of himself.
It is critical that Davis maintains his health because he has been the Lakers’ primary player the whole season.