Lakers News: LeBron James, Darvin Ham Reflect On Comeback Over Timberwolves
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LA’s leaders try to put positive spin on underwhelming night.
Last night, your Los Angeles Lakers looked surprisingly vulnerable playing against a Minnesota Timberwolves team that was down two starters and one critical bench big. It took an overtime period to vanquish Minnesota, 108-102, and advance to the first round of the 2023 Western Conference playoffs. LA will face the Memphis Grizzlies, starting in a Sunday matinee on the road.
The Lakers had some costly gaffes, even committed by their two stars: All-Star small forward LeBron James inbounded a ball towards D’Angelo Russell that was instantly picked off in the waning minutes of regulation, while starting center Anthony Davis foolishly fouled Minnesota point guard Mike Conley on a corner three-point attempt with 0.1 seconds remaining in regulation, with the Lakers leading by three. Conley tied the game at the charity stripe, but Los Angeles did eventually overpower the Timberwolves in overtime.
James and Davis both looked fatigued playing 42+ minutes a piece as the game wore on. James just doesn’t seem capable of playing defense at a high level anymore, and rarely covered opposing players beyond the arc. Pricey starting Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell looked awful, and saw his duties essentially replaced by reserve guard Dennis Schroder.
In postgame quotes captured by Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times, James and head coach Darvin Ham did their darnedest to spin the lackluster effort into something positive.
“We struggled early,” Ham acknowledged of the team’s tough 60-49 first half deficit, before the team staged a comeback in the second half and overtime.
“That’s one thing we’ve been very good at,” James said of LA’s rally. “You’re taking the gas tank down to E and trying to see if there’s a reserve tank…You can always find a way to make one more play.”
Being good at having to stage a comeback isn’t really much to brag about, but here we are. Both Ham and James made an effort to emphasize the team’s resilience.
“We took care of business,” James said. “And, we advanced.”
“This entire season, we’ve just constantly tried to move forward,” Ham said.
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