The Los Angeles Lakers Monday lost a crucial match against the Denver Nuggets 122-109. LeBron James, the star performer of the Lakers, missed out on the game due to ankle soreness.
Darvin Ham with his takeaways from tonight's loss against the Denver Nuggets. pic.twitter.com/Bxdill8jna
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Coming into the game against the Nuggets, the Lakers were on a five-game winning streak, and among those five games, four victories came due to the participation and heroic performance of their star performer, the “L-Train.”
LeBron’s participation in the Lakers team is crucial, and it has been proven time and time again. Just look at the games against the Hawks and the Hornets- the Akron Hammer stunned everyone with his wizard-like skills and alone produced 47 and 43 points out of their total 130 and 121 points, even while going through his ankle injury.
Moreover, knowing he is one of the team’s mainstays, James takes care of himself and skips games when he feels “things are going above the edge” and needs to rest. The Lakers head coach Darvin Ham supports his star player whenever the L-Train needs it, and Ham’s words reflect how he sees his “All-Star” player.
What did Darvin Ham say about LeBron James?
In an interview before the game against the Nuggets, coach Ham talks about James and his contribution to the team. Darvin says,
“You know with LeBron, it’s just a daily thing, in terms of how he’s feeling. He listens to his body. Very responsible in that regard. At the end of the day, we’ve been playing well, obviously. Again, we don’t want to subject our guys to something that a little rest can help in the short term, or force the issue where it turns into a long-term issue. So him sitting out is totally fine.”
Furthermore, while talking about team game-play, the coach went on to say,
“A lot of where our record is … is a lot of self-inflicted (wounds). I can immediately ring off about six or seven games that could’ve went our way that didn’t, and so it’s the process of constantly trying to sustain what you’re doing well.”
“I think our competitive edge, the way we lock down and defend at different moments, our togetherness, the way we share the ball at different moments, our accountability. Guys understanding if it’s a breakdown, why the defense broke down or why we didn’t get a good look on a particular offensive possession. Acknowledging it and trying to do better.” he further added.
The loss against the Nuggets will hurt the Lakers, but if James does not recover soon, it will hurt them even more as he is undoubtedly the match-winner for the team from Los Angeles, which is once again proven with this crucial game going down as an “L”.
