Darvin Ham: We can't just play hard when there's something to play for

On the other side of the ball, the biggest advantage of starting five players 6-foot-6 and taller was the ability to switch across every position. Ham said the team plans on deploying a switch-heavy scheme moving forward. “It allows you to keep the ball in front of you,” Ham said. “Whenever you’re in a drop or a hedge or you’re trying to ice it on the side, there’s a gap. There’s this little advantage that can be gained by the offense because of the space and you’re trying to maintain matchups. But when you have that type of size, and you start that type of size, length and athleticism, and you can switch down the line, they basically gain no advantage.” -via The Athletic / December 24, 2023

He put point guard D’Angelo Russell on the bench in favor of forward Jarred Vanderbilt, a move that would force the Lakers to lean into a defensive identity. “And when you play great defense, it makes the offense a little bit easier,” Ham said before the game. “And so just wanted to lean into that side of the ball. Start out a little bit bigger. Obviously we’ve been struggling in a lot of first quarters this season so we feel like being a little bit bigger on the perimeter, more athletic gives us a chance to really have this go in our favor this time.” -via Los Angeles Times / December 24, 2023

Dave McMenamin: Darvin Ham says Gabe Vincent is experiencing “a little bit of swelling” in his left knee and the team is trying to determine the next steps in his recovery process. -via Twitter @mcten / December 23, 2023