Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham took a shot at Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who complained about flopping in their second-round series.
The Golden State Warriors are on the brink of elimination entering Game 5, as they are down 1-3 in their second-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers. After a 104-101 Game 4 loss, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr openly criticized Los Angeles for flopping, saying, that they were a team “that plays with a lot of gamesmanship” and that he believed “they took some flops and were rewarded.”
At first, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham didn’t really respond to Kerr’s comments, saying “I control what I can control, which is coaching my team” and that he doesn’t “go down the rabbit hole of blaming officials” (via The Athletic’s Jovan Buha). Well, that all changed when Game 5 began.
During an interview with TNT’s Chris Haynes at the end of the first quarter, Ham was asked about his reaction to Dennis Schroder not receiving a call when falling to the ground on a layup attempt. Ham said “we don’t teach flopping.”
Darvin Ham takes shot at Steve Kerr over flopping comments
“We teach our players to play downhill and attack the paint and be forceful,” said Ham.
Haynes revealed in his pre-game hit that he texted a “prominent Laker player” about Kerr’s complaints and claims of flopping, and this was the message he received back:
“Let them [expletive] and complain, it shows weakness and frustration. We can’t get caught up in that game, we just have to play and keep fighting.”
Kerr and the Warriors faithful have complained about the free throw disparity between both teams through the first four games, which showed that the Lakers had 103 free throw attempts, while the Warriors had 51.
At the end of the first half of Game 5, the Warriors led the Lakers by the score of 70-59. In terms of free throws, Lakers made 8-of-10 attempts, while the Warriors made all seven of their attempts.
Let’s just say that Ham did hear Kerr’s flopping comments, based on his interview early on in Game 5.