Due to a left ankle peroneal tendinopathy, we already knew that All-Star Los Angel Lakers star LeBron James would miss tonight’s nationally televised TNT game against the Golden State Warriors. However, it now looks like LA may be missing its coach as well. The Lakers are hoping head coach Darvin Hames, who missed a team practice on Wednesday due to an unidentified personal matter, will be able to lead the team at the Chase Center on Thursday, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. In the event that Ham is unavailable, veteran Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy—who has been mentioned by Vegas oddsmakers as a possible Ham replacement—makes the most sense as a stand-in.
With a 30-26 record for the year, the Lakers are presently the ninth seed in the Western Conference. Golden State, ranked tenth, is 27-26; some of the club’s games were postponed by the NBA due to assistant coach Dejan Milojević’s unexpected death during a team dinner. Both teams, who were rivals in the Western Conference semifinals a year ago, are now fighting for survival in the play-in round. The Warriors and Lakers are playing for position as the postseason draws near, so this game is crucial for both teams. I hope that Ham gets over whatever personal troubles he may be going through soon!
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