Lakers finally find key to turn season around

The Los Angeles Lakers seem to be catching their rhythm. It took him half of the NBA season, but it looks like Darvin Ham has finally found his starting lineup. Notably, it just happens to be the same lineup he used last season.

The Lakers rallied to come back from double digits and beat the Golden State Warriors on the road in a double-overtime game that saw LeBron James grab a career-high 20 rebounds.

The team’s stellar defense from last season is finally showing up again, and their offense is showing signs of life. Needless to say, it all has to do with their chemistry and how well they know each other.

Lakers Thriving With ‘New’ Old Lineup

“They’ve been through a lot of wars once they came together at the deadline last year and the way we pushed through the rest of the season and the playoffs,” Coach Darvin Ham said after the win over the Warriors. “But having that group, that five, the way they know each other, they understand each other’s rhythm, it’s a great luxury to have.”

Darvin Ham, coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The coach stressed just how important it is to know what you’re going to get from your players, adding that every coach has to have some trust in a group of guys to take care of business late in the game:

“It’s not about always starting that way, but you know you’re going to get to it,” Ham said. “Every coach has a finishing six or seven, group of six or seven guys that he knows he can potentially finish with. But best believe, when it’s time to finish the game, the game is on the line, it’s a good five to have in your back pocket.”

LeBron James Likes His Team’s Chemistry

The Lakers finally look like a finely-tuned machine again. There were just too many miscues, especially on defense, and they looked like a group of players who had never played together:

“We just have chemistry and we have a lot of minutes logged together, so we know what we want to do,” James said. “It’s a team that was in the Western Conference finals last year and made some plays in the second round and things of that nature so, with myself, AR, Vando, D-Lo and AD, we just, we know where everybody is at and we work well together.”

LeBron James carries the ball during a Lakers game.

The Lakers signed a lot of role players in the offseason, but none of them has been up to the task thus far. They’re now heavily expected to make some moves ahead of the trade deadline.

Then again, this group of players has proven that they don’t need to go through another roster overhaul or make some major moves. They just need to continue to build that chemistry up and get ready for the playoffs.

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