The Los Angeles Lakers have stumbled a bit as of late, currently sitting at 12-9 following a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday evening. LeBron James has suffered through one of the worst shooting slumps of his career recently, and Anthony Davis' MVP-level start to the season has also tapered off considerably.
After winning the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament a season ago, Los Angeles found itself quickly eliminated from the proceedings this year. Meanwhile, the team's former head coach Darvin Ham is now an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, who are 4-0 in NBA Cup play so far this year. When paired with his record in such games as the Lakers' head coach last year, Ham is now a perfect 11-0 all time in tournament action.
Ham's Bucks are set to take on the Orlando Magic in the knockout round next week, with the winner advancing to the semifinals in Las Vegas to take on either the Atlanta Hawks or the New York Knicks.
A rough patch for the Lakers
While Lakers fans aren't exactly clamoring for a Darvin Ham return, it's safe to say that the honeymoon phase of JJ Redick's tenure with the Purple and Gold has come to an end. While the three point attempts may be up and the overall effort increased under Redick's direction, this is still essentially the same exact team that flamed out in five games in the first round of the playoffs a season ago, with the difference being that the talent of the teams around the Lakers has gotten significantly better.
As previously noted, LeBron James can't seem to throw a rock in the ocean right now, as the future Hall of Famer has missed his last 19 three point attempts and has nearly seen his incredible streak of double digit scoring games come to an end on multiple occasions so far this year.
The Lakers have also dealt with injuries lately, as Austin Reaves has missed time recently along with D'Angelo Russell. Still, there is plenty of time to get things turned around, and it doesn't appear that Lakers fans are going to give up on Redick quite as quickly as they did on Ham.
In any case, the Lakers are next slated to take the floor on Wednesday evening on the road vs James' former team the Miami Heat. That game is slated to tip off at 7:30 PM ET from south Florida.
