Darvin Ham earned this one.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ winless start has been the biggest story of the new NBA season so far. The Lakers dropped their first five games until finally getting win No. 1 against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night, securing a 121-110 home win behind strong performances from LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook.
The win feels so good for Los Angeles for several reasons. The Lakers were winless longer than any team in the NBA to start the season. It happened against the Nuggets team many believed was a championship contender coming into the season. It’s also the first career win for new head coach Darvin Ham, who got the job after years of being an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Lakers players were amped for Ham after the game. They poured water on him and jumped all over him in the locker room. Watch a clip that assistant coach Phil Handy posted on Twitter.
First of all, good for Ham. He had a great reputation as an assistant in Milwaukee, and has been dealt a very difficult hand with the Lakers for his first head coaching job. The Lakers’ problems are the byproduct of a poorly constructed roster and cheapness from ownership. It wasn’t Frank Vogel’s fault that the Lakers underachieved the last two years, and it’s not Ham’s fault they started 0-5.
At the same time, it’s pretty funny that the Lakers celebrated an Oct. win so hard after an 0-5 start. Twitter was ready to get their jokes off.
In all honesty, this was a great win for the Lakers. It was nice to see Westbrook come off the bench and play well, even getting a huge ovation from the crowd at the end of the game. He finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists in the win, and was +18 when he was on the court.
Ham talked about what the win meant for Westbrook after the game.
A win should not feel like a monumental occasion for the Lakers, but the reality is there won’t be many free Ws on the schedule this year in a tough Western Conference. Can the Lakers go on a little hot streak right now? 77-5 is still on the table.
