Taurean Prince (personal reasons) has been downgraded to OUT for tonight’s game vs. Philadelphia, per the Lakers.

Unrelated, but imagine the Lakers resign Max... and Reddish picks up his player option... and Ham stays and continues to give Reddish minutes over Max next season again

yea that would suck but I see it happening sadly lol

Watching the Lakers offseason made me understand why NBA front offices usually don't let coaches get too involved in signing players in free agency.

Cuz when the coaches gets too involved, it increases the risk of favoritism. That's what we have here with Ham.

Rob should not let Ham recruit players anymore. Ham definitely should not be giving promises when it comes to playing time before training camp.

Also, Rob didn't have to give Cam, Hayes, and Wood, player options. No one was dying to get these guys. Why give them that leverage?

All that did was f*** our flexibility since we can't just waive them and made it harder to find a trade.

Yup lol, hopefully they all decline.

Lakers starters

Watch Mo Bamba go off on us ctfu

DLO

DLO breaks the record

AD tonight:

23 Points
10/16 FG
19 Rebounds
4 Blocks
4 Assists
+4

Spencer Dinwiddie tonight:

11 Points
3/8 FG
3/6 3PT
2 Assists
+8

Darvin Ham said he was expecting things to be ugly tonight after having three days off but he was pleased with how the Lakers picked it up in the second half.

"Everyone gave a good team effort defensively."

Darvin Ham on the Lakers: "We knew we had our hands full...We wanted to make sure our defense remained consistent. It got a little away from us in the second quarter...In the second half, we got back on track. Everyone gave a good defensive effort."

Darvin Ham on the Lakers turnovers: "The one thing you can't do is have self inflicted wounds. You're disappointed because you didn't get a whistle. There's a difference between unforced errors and turnovers."

Darvin Ham: "Just us talking things through and not imploding, the frustration needs to be the prelude to focus."

Darvin Ham on Spencer Dinwiddie:

"More and more each game, he's getting more and more comfortable. Everybody around him is encouraging him because we're gonna need him."

Darvin Ham on Spencer Dinwiddie: "He is able to get on-ball blocks which is very difficult to do in this league.

Darvin Ham thinks Cam Reddish's defense on Maxey was "huge" for the Lakers in his return.

Darvin Ham says Taurean Prince will be back on Sunday vs. Indiana.

LeBron noted that with the rarity of three off days, “Guys didn’t have legs, rhythm was off” citing the turnovers and missed shots … but “We got the job done.”

He noted the second half defense as the key, with Philly scoring only 24 in the 3rd and 18 in the 4th.

D'Angelo Russell says that the team "grinded out" the win.

D'Angelo Russell on setting the Lakers 3-point record:

"It just feels good to be a part of one of these type of deals. This franchise is one of the most prestigious, so to have that record, I'm more than grateful... Now I'll try to shatter it."

LeBron on Spencer Dinwiddie: "He's a difference-maker and we need to unlock that for sure."

D’Angelo Russell on Spencer Dinwiddie: “Obviously, this is a new role for him. He’s more than capable of doing any and everything we ask…Kudos to him for hanging in there.”

Lakers initially started Taurean Prince due in part to Rui Hachimura not embracing specific duties, per Jovan Buha

“But once Hachimura arrived in training camp, he didn’t embrace the role-player duties the coaching staff wanted from him — being fully engaged defensively, boxing out hard, making the extra pass,” Jovan Buha wrote. “Prince, on the other hand, earned the trust of the coaching staff with his professionalism and consistency.

“The decision to start Prince was far from a unanimous one inside the organization. The coaching staff believed Hachimura’s score-first mentality, which had not evolved enough in training camp in their eyes, made him a better fit off the bench. Prince, meanwhile, profiled as the low-usage, 3-and-D player the starting lineup needed to space the floor and slot onto elite wing scorers.”

theathletic.com/5354257/2024/03/22/lakers-starting-lineup-rui-hachimura