EL SEGUNDO — The film room might seem an odd place to start the first day of practice, especially considering Darvin Ham had very little film to show.
Since he was hired months ago, Ham has preached tough-minded defense – something the Lakers didn’t play much last season. And though he is proud of his last coaching stop, “I wasn’t going to dare show any Milwaukee Bucks clips,” he chuckled. “I’m a Laker – a Laker through and through.”
Ham’s first day of training camp in his first head coaching role consisted of slides (made with video coordinator Dru Anthrop) with some of the less flattering defensive figures from last season, paired with some of the corresponding principles Ham hopes to instill. Then the Lakers got to work on the court, chiefly working on defensive drills. In one, called “Cutthroat,” all points are scored on defense – hammering home the idea that the Lakers aim to be a defense-first squad this year.
“Just planting the seed, watering the plant,” Ham said, “and hopefully, it comes to fruition in a major, major way.”
Ham and the Lakers have their work cut out for them. Last season after boasting top-3 defenses in each of former coach Frank Vogel’s first two seasons, the Lakers finished 21st in defensive rating (112.8), and their inability to get timely stops was one of the most glaring issues among their many faults. Ham’s expectation – and maybe hubris – is that the Lakers can get that turned around in a hurry and become one of the “elite” defenses in the NBA.
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