EL SEGUNDO-- Darvin Ham has actually been through playoff series previously, however it's different when you remain in the No. 1 chair.
And in a scene where adapting and adjusting is vital, he's revealing as a first-year head coach that he can hang with among the masters.
The Lakers are ahead of the safeguarding champion Golden State Warriors 2-1 going into Monday night's Game 4 in downtown L.A. The seeds for their 30-point Game 3 success in Saturday night's Game 3 were planted in the movie room, after Ham and his personnel had digested the relocations Warriors coach Steve Kerr had actually made prior to Golden State's 27-point success in Game 2.
For instance, after Jarred Vanderbilt had actually guarded Steph Curry for the very first 2 games, the Lakers coach and his staff made a switch, putting the 6-foot-9 Vanderbilt on Draymond Green, having Anthony Davis guard JaMychal Green-- the 6-8 small forward that had actually changed Kevon Looney in the Warriors' lineup in Game 2-- and putting
Austin Reaves on Curry, with Lonnie Walker IV emerging to get his turn too.
The Lakers also addressed Draymond Green offensively Saturday night. He got his fourth nasty at the start of the second half and finished with 2 points and 2 rebounds and spent his (for him) terse postgame interviews complaining about the Lakers' 37-17 totally free throw variation.
Walker, who had actually been a starter and had actually gotten constant minutes before the Lakers' trading deadline changes, had seen his minutes drop to the point where he discovered himself exercising after practices with what the coach referred to as the ‘‘ stay prepared' group, which also includes Shaquille Harrison, Tristan Thompson, Scottie Pippen Jr. and Cole Swider.
Going into Saturday, Walker had actually played 27 minutes in the group's first 8 playoff games. In Game 3 he played 24:24 and contributed 12 points, 4 rebounds and two takes, as well as an exercise of a different sort chasing Curry around the court.
It's not the funnest thing to do," Walker stated Sunday. We've been in the gym night in and night out, completing against each other, having our own kind of playoff remain ready thing. And I think the transition because of that truly made it not so hard."
Ham stated he 'd let Walker know the day before Game 3 that he 'd likely need him, "and then doubled down on it after we had our movie of Game 2, and he was all set. ……. He was a starter for us at one point, so my self-confidence in him never wavered. It's simply various combinations of men we were wishing to have a look at while we're going through our procedure of getting to this point."
Existed ideas that the novice head coach might be in over his head in a playoff series? Feel totally free to stow them if so. Part of the task is having a feel for whom to rely on and when.
When I asked Ham which of the men he 'd coached for had actually helped prepare him to browse the ups and downs of a playoff series, the first two he mentioned were his head coaches as a Lakers assistant in the early 2010s, Mike Brown and Mike d'Antoni. And, of course, there was Mike Budenholzer, just recently fired in
Milwaukee 2 seasons after winning a championship. When in that stretch, ham had helped him for nine seasons in Atlanta and
Milwaukee and only missed the playoffs.
The essentials?
" Just going through the information, actually understanding your opponent and what they like to do and what they don't like to do and establishing a preliminary coverage, a counter and after that an escape plan, if you will," Ham said. "And also understanding, you know, the combination of players that fit from series to series, comprehending your rotation, comprehending your coverages and understanding what you want to carry out offensively. And you understand, a lot of that came from Bud."
We make so much of adjustments, however Ham noted that the majority of them occur early in a series. At a particular point-- possibly Monday night, maybe Game 5 in
San Francisco Wednesday-- there will be not a surprises.
At that point, he stated, "it's just who does what they do the best, who has the energy, the effort and the seriousness in terms of the little things: How you run it in shift, how you return in protective transition. Are you setting good screens? Are you playing downhill with force? Are you managing the glass? Are you managing the complimentary throw line? And those things become important over attempting to fool them with some type of play or some rogue defense the much deeper you enter into a playoff series headed towards seven games. It's simply the more disciplined you need to be and actually constant with the little things, the intangibles.
" It's just that consistent puzzle that you're attempting to find out, that math equation and comprehending what to plug in and what to refrain from doing."
His players appear to trust his capability to press the ideal buttons. That, too, becomes part of the package.
" He's putting us in the best position to thrive," guard D'Angelo Russell stated. " You got to respect the results. We're in the 2nd round, going to Game 4, and we have an opportunity to do something unique."
There's still a long method to go in these playoffs. This rookie head coach does not seem overmatched by any methods.
jalexander@scng.com
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