Former Lakers player blames Darvin Ham for Russell Westbrook's struggles

The Los Angeles Lakers were just four wins away from making it to the NBA Finals, which is crazy, considering how dysfunctional they were to begin the season. Not even LeBron James or Anthony Davis looked good early in the year.

But the team was able to rally together. Darvin Ham and Rob Pelinka made some moves, and those tweaks helped them reach the Western Conference Finals against all odds.

Nonetheless, Philadelphia 76ers guard Patrick Beverley believes Ham didn’t do a good job with his lineups, and he even blamed him for Russell Westbrook’s struggles.

Patrick Beverley Calls Out Darvin Ham

“They should’ve started me, Austin [Reaves], [Russell Westbrook], [LeBron James], and [Anthony Davis],” he said on Gil’s Arena. “All the beef about Russ, maybe none of that happens… It’s ways that you have to operate your team without over-managing it, or over-coaching it. Sometimes you just have to put the dominoes out there.”

“I thought it was. I thought it was bad for Russ. He was the heartbeat of the team,” Beverley added.

It’s hard to point the finger at just one or two players, but the Lakers did fare much better once they were both gone. It wasn’t a matter of effort; they just weren’t a good fit for the team.