Darvin Ham continues to display a lack of understanding for who should set the tone

As the Los Angeles Lakers fall back to below .500 after a rough loss to a Nets squad that isn't even in the play-in and will most likely be getting huge offers for their players at the deadline, Darvin Ham still seems to not understand his role as a head coach.

As noted by Jovan Buha of the Athletic, Ham told reporters post-game that the squad needs to " decide which team we’re gonna be.”

After a rough end to 2023, L.A. seemed to be on the right track after beating the Mavericks and Thunder in the last week. It looked like the franchise was on its way to getting out of the play-in tournament and into an actual top-6 seed in the Western Conference. Letting Cam Thomas score 33 points on efficient shooting showed that the squad still has work to do on the defensive end. Thomas is a fun scoring machine in the league but the Lakers defense allowed him to dual against LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

This is something that can't happen if LA wants to go far in the playoffs this season or even win a single playoff round. Lonnie Walker was also able to play well in this matchup which further speaks to the poor wing defense that this squad has. With that in mind, what can Ham do to improve the team going forward?

What adjustments can Darvin Ham do to improve this squad's defense going forward?

To be quite honest, the Lakers will probably need some new personnel if they want to have a better defense. Taurean Prince has not played well this season and will either need to be moved to the edge of the bench or traded by the deadline. Despite his better play of late, D'Angelo Russell probably needs to be moved for the Lakers to have more success.

Russell's defense doesn't fit the Lakers and his lack of an iso-game forces Jarred Vanderbilt to not play as many minutes as any team would like for one of the best defenders in the league. Yes, the Lakers roster isn't perfect but the team has cost a couple of games which would have allowed the team to have room to breathe before the trade deadline.

Coach Ham has made some lineup decisions that haven't been good. The former NBA player insisting on three-guard lineups early in the season gave the team a few costly losses. At the end of the day, it's a shame that the Lakers are fighting to stay in the play-in since LeBron James and Anthony Davis are having All-NBA-like seasons. While the squad might not have a perfect roster, some of the issues have come from the tone that Coach Ham has set this season.