Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said he and superstar LeBron James were on the same page Wednesday night regarding Ham pulling James with almost five minutes left to go in a Game 5 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
In the midst of a 10-0 Lakers run in the fourth quarter that pulled the game within 14 points, Ham took James out of the game for the final time with 4:40 left in regulation.
“He and I made eye contact and we had a nonverbal discussion. It was time,” Ham said. “We’re going to need him big on Friday. So it was time. Simple as that.”
The Lakers could not close out the first-round series, losing Game 5 to send the series back to LA with the Lakers up 3-2. The Grizzlies used a monstrous 26-2 run to power their 116-99 win. The run started at the end of the third quarter and carried into the fourth, ending with a 25-point Grizzlies lead with 10 minutes left.
James struggled shooting-wise, going 5-for-17 from the field and 1-for-9 from beyond the arc to finish with 15 points. He added 10 rebounds and 5 assists but led all players with 5 turnovers. He played 37 minutes.
Coaching and managing player minutes in the playoffs is challenging. Ham could have decided to keep LeBron James in the game and go for a historic comeback to close the series. Instead, he most likely played it safe by taking his star player out to give him that little extra time to recover for Game 6 in LA Friday night.
Source: https:/clutchpoints.com
