his in-game decisions, but when it comes to motivating his players, he delivers. After defeating the New Orleans Pelicans to earn a spot in the NBA Playoffs against their arch rival Denver Nuggets, Ham shook the locker room with his declaration of war toward the Nuggets
The Lakers held off the Pelicans to capture a 110-106 victory in the Play-In Tournament, which resulted in the No. 7 seed and a matchup with the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets.
Riding high from the win, the Lakers coach sensed an opportunity to rally his troops.
“Back to 0-0,” Ham proclaimed while holding up his hands to represent the clean slate against the defending champs.
“We with all the smoke and we ain’t ducking no fades!” he said, indicating that his team is up for a fight with its big rival.
By publicly starting the battle, Ham puts his top soldier, LeBron James, front and center in the line of fire. It’s easy for the coach to say that his team won’t back down, but he doesn’t have to guard Nikola Jokic or Jamal Murray.