The Only Thing That Can Save My Team is an Exorcism

Fans turn away in horror when the Lakers have a fourth-quarter lead

I don’t expect any sympathy from all you haters out there, but I guarantee you know exactly what I am feeling right now.

Last Friday night, we saw another fourth-quarter collapse in a long string of blown games this season. It happens to bad teams all the time and the Lakers have been a bad team since July 29, 2021.

It seemed like the Lakers finally got a break, as Dallas had to play without Luka Doncic. At the same time, Golden State, Minnesota, New Orleans and Portland all lost.

Somehow, the Los Angeles Lakers managed to blow a 4-point lead where they had the ball in the last 17 seconds.

What made this game so unbearable was a win would have put them in a tie with Golden State for the #6 seed in the West.

For the past two seasons, I accepted the Lakers’ incompetence as the Russell Westbrook tax.

The front office destroyed a championship roster. The team was still rated the #1 defense in 2020–2021, despite LeBron and AD missing almost half the season.

They brought in a guy who can’t shoot, refuses to defend or set screens, and lacks the decision-making to play winning basketball in crunch time.

They brought in a guy who was so clueless that he blamed everyone else for his failures in his exit interview.

Worst of all, they brought in a guy who fought the coach’s system on the first day of training camp. Westbrook undermined the coach and created a locker room vibe that destroyed the team from within.

It would be too simple to blame the basketball gods for all the last-minute losses.

This is a team that doesn’t just snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, it performs root canals without anesthesia on us fans.

As a life-long Lakers fan, I’ve had to turn off the sound, close my eyes and ask my wife “is it safe yet?”*

The Lakers lost two games where the NBA apologized for the refs not calling obvious fouls at the buzzer. LeBron James would have needed to make only one of the two free throws to win each game.

They have also lost late-game leads because of blown free throws, blown defensive assignments and terrible crunch time offense.

But since the trade deadline, the team’s new roster has shown promise. They are 9–6, with the #1 rated defense and a top-10 net rating.

Westbrook gone, all the clues point to one man responsible for killing the team’s playoff hopes.

When a team collapses over and over in the last five minutes, it’s easy to blame it on the personnel. (And let’s face it. Russ made the kind of egregious Shaqtin’ a Fool type errors that people won’t forget.)

But when the personnel completely changes and the last second disasters continue, that falls on the coach.

J’accuse, Darvin, j’accuse.

How is it possible for a team to make 6 errors in the last 17 seconds of a game?

Here is the what happened after Austin Reaves hit two free throws to put the Lakers up 109–105 with 50.1 seconds left.

17.0 seconds: call a play, Darvin!

The Lakers run a play with no movement trying to post Anthony Davis. He gets double teamed (of course), and passes back to Russell with 8 seconds left on the shot clock. Russell shoots a contested three-pointer from the right wing when he has a wide open Austin Reaves right next to him at the top of the key.

8.0 seconds: teach team basketball, not player empowerment

Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter of all time and he still passes the ball to Klay Thompson when he knows Thompson is hot.

D’Angelo Russell lost favor in Minnesota because he tried to play hero ball in crunch time against Memphis in the playoffs. He’s a guy who made an All-Star game (as a replacement) because he hit so many late game shots with the Nets. He’s a guy who made the “ice in my veins” sign after he hit a game-winning shot in Summer League. Yes, I said a Summer League game.

The point here is a coach needs to understand what message he teaches his players to maximize their ability. You don’t tell irrational confidence guys to fire away. You tell them to make the extra pass.

In the game, Russell had made only 5 of 16 shots and was 0 for 5 when he launched the shot. But the issue here is more than shot selection — it’s about clock management.

If Russell passes to the open shooter, the Lakers can run 4 or 5 seconds off the clock. That would leave only 11 or 12 seconds left in the game with the Lakers up by four points.

7.0 seconds: make sure your team knows time and score.

Anthony Davis commits the stupidest foul I have ever seen him make. This guy is a DPOY-level player and he fouled Maxi Kleba on a 3-point shot when he had no chance to block the ball and for no reason.

As stupid as Davis was, how does the coach fail to work on this game situation until they stop making the same mistakes?

If Kleber misses, the game is over. If he makes the shot, the Lakers can quickly inbound the ball to Dennis Schroder before Dallas can set their defense. With his speed, he might run out the clock. If he gets fouled, he is almost a 90% free throw shooter, so the Lakers will lead by 3. Kleber makes all 3 free throws and Dallas gets to set their defense for an inbound play.

6.1 seconds: know your personnel and stop placating big egos.

The Lakers are up by 1. If Dallas can’t get a steal, they have to foul.

Why on earth would you not put your five best free throw shooters in the game at that point?

This is the most inexcusable brain fart of the entire night. Troy Brown Jr. is a 91.4% free throw shooter and was not on the floor. Schroder (.873), Reaves (.851), and Russell (.828) were already on the floor. The fifth player should have been Lonnie Walker IV (.873).

Each of these players have a much higher probability to make both free throws than Davis — who has cost the team two wins already by missing free throws — and Malik Beasley, a 63.6% free throw shooter.

I will say it again. That lineup failure is the worst, most basic coaching mistake a coach could ever make. Even in a girls’ under-12 league.

6.1 seconds: if you can’t draw up an ATO, hire someone who can.

Darvin called a terrible out of bounds play, matched only by its poor execution.

The #1 priority in this situation is to get the ball to Dennis Schroder and use his speed to run out the clock, if possible. Even if Dallas fouls him quickly, Schroder is likely to make both free throws. The worst case scenario would be overtime, if Dallas hits a three-pointer.

In the formation, Russell was right next to Schroder. I thought he would set a screen on Schroder’s man. If he does, Schroder runs full speed to the Lakers’ side of the floor, catches the pass and then plays keep away.

Instead, Russell slips the screen and screens for Anthony Davis who runs out toward the three point line and gets fouled in 0.9 seconds. Why in the world would you want Davis running away from the basket? If someone sets a screen for him, it should be to get him an alley-oop dunk.

Of course, Davis get fouled and misses one of the free throws so L.A. leads 110–108.

6.1 seconds: don’t let the other team beat you with a three-pointer.

The worst thing that can happen if you give up a basket is the game goes to overtime. Considering that Kyrie Irving had five fouls, Dallas had almost no chance to win if the game continued.

In this case, you want all your best perimeter defenders on the floor to prevent a 3-point shot. Instead, Darvin Ham puts in Wenyen Gabriel, a foul-prone big guy who isn’t a great perimeter defender, alongside Dennis Schroder (decent), Reaves (good), Vanderbilt (elite), and Davis (elite). Once again, why would you not have Troy Brown Jr. in the game instead of Gabriel? He is a much better perimeter defender and a good off-ball defender.

The play unfolds with Kyrie Irving dribbling for 5 seconds, while being double-teamed by Gabriel and Schroder. He throws a desperate pass to Kleber. Davis fell asleep guarding no one in the paint. He contested the shot late and Kleber made it. Dallas wins 111–110.

It’s impossible to believe that a professional basketball coach could squeeze that many mistakes into 17 seconds.

One could argue that the players are the ones who make the mistakes, but coaches allow and even encourage bad habits throughout a season.

I want to believe in this team’s potential, but I can’t now.

I know this coach will find a way to fuck up this season, regardless of whether LeBron James gets healthy enough to play again.

The Lakers may still make the play in game, but they don’t have the coaching to play winning basketball in crunch time.

I don’t even think the front office will get rid of Darvin Ham if his head starts to swivel 360° while projectile vomiting.

That’s why my team needs an exorcism.

*A literary tip of the hat to William Goldman’s brilliant thriller, The Marathon Man.