Darvin Ham will 'agree to disagree' with Anthony Davis on Lakers' game plan

Times are tough in Laker Land. Down 0-2 to the defending champion Denver Nuggets after Jamal Murray's buzzer-beating dagger on Monday, the Lakers are searching for answers to extend their season. The only problem is that they can't seem to agree on what's going wrong.

Anthony Davis, who was the direct recipient of Murray's game-winner, seemed to blame coaching after the Game 2 loss, saying that the Lakers "have stretches when we don't know what we're doing." Lakers head coach Darvin Ham took exception when asked about that, as seen below.

The Lakers are not on the same page, and time is running out.

Ham is right to some extent that Davis' words came from frustration, but after blowing a 20-point lead and a chance to even the series, can you blame the Lakers big man? Davis has played two-time MVP Nikola Jokic to as close to a draw as anyone can hope for by pouring in 32 points in each of the first two games on over 61 percent shooting.

Davis' thinly-veiled shots at his coach are right, even if it's not productive to be saying them out loud with reporters present. Even Nuggets coach Mike Malone confirmed so indirectly, saying on Wednesday, "We've gone over our game plan, we've gone over adjustments for a lot of different players and play calls that we haven't even had to show yet."

This points to the lack of organization and in-game adjustments by the Lakers, who have now lost 10 straight games to the Nuggets dating back to last January. One commenter on NBA Reddit may have said it best: "Michael Malone is playing chess while Darvin Ham is bashing together his LeBron and AD action figures and making sound effects with his mouth."

Ham has been the subject of constant scrutiny since taking the Lakers job, but that comes with the territory when you coach LeBron James and hold one of the most sought-after positions in sports. The criticism is deserved, though. When you have two of the best players in the league and can't do better than the No. 8 seed when LeBron and AD combine to play in 147 of a possible 164 games, you have to answer for that. When you lead a team that is in the throes of its worst losing streak to a single opponent since losing 16 straight to the Blazers from 2014-18, you have to own it.

If the Lakers get swept in this series, Ham is going to have to own that, too, and it could mean the end of his tenure in L.A., even though he's just two years into a four-year contract with the team. The Nuggets may have a better team, but they're also more disciplined, more cohesive, and better coached. Do you think Jokic or Murray would be publicly questioning Malone after a playoff loss? Not a chance.

Ham will probably be the scapegoat if the Lakers can't manage a miraculous turnaround. Though a coaching change heading into next year may be necessary, now is not the time for in-fighting, especially with the reigning champs and possibly soon-to-be three-time MVP coming to your house for a must-win Game 3. Davis and the Lakers need to ask themselves, do they really want to win? Or would they rather point fingers as their season is cut short once again? It may not even matter, but it seems that we already have the answer.