Los Angeles Lakers fans have seen just about enough of Darvin Ham.
The Lakers made it 11 straight losses to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, falling in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series 112-105. Once again, the Lakers blew a double-digit lead (as they already had in both Games 1 and Game 2) and brought to themselves to the brink of elimination as Denver took a commanding 3-0 series advantage.
In the final minute or so of the fourth quarter with the Nuggets on the verge of victory, Lakers fans busted out a harsh message about head coach Darvin Ham. They started chanting, “Fire Darvin!” and could be heard doing so on the TNT broadcast.
Fire Darvin chants breaking out. Brings a smile to my face https://t.co/O494Equ7Mw
— ²³𝙻𝚎𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜🏀☄️🌎💞 (@BronGotGame) April 26, 2024
Jovan Buha of The Athletic confirmed that “Fire Darvin!” was indeed what was being chanted.
Ham is in his second season as head coach of the Lakers and has led the team to a respectable record of 90-74 (.549) as well as a Western Conference Finals berth. But they were already swept out of the playoffs by the Nuggets last season and are now in grave danger of meeting the exact same fate this time around.
Lakers fans often criticize Ham for his game management (specifically his use of timeouts and challenges) as well as for his rotation decisions (with inconsistent players like Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie regularly getting big minutes). Ham may also be losing his grip on the Lakers’ stars, so management could have a decision to make about him this offseason.
