Lakers News: Latest on LeBron James' Foot Injury, Darvin Ham Talks LA's Struggles

As the Los Angeles Lakers sort through the reality that they have the third worst record in the NBA (2-8) after Monday night's lopsided 139-116 loss to the Utah Jazz, it's obvious that there are a lot of uncertainties to navigate in the land of Purple and Gold.

That includes the status of LeBron James, who is listed as probable for tonight's game against the Los Angeles Clippers due to left foot soreness, according to Lakers insider Ryan Ward.

As if that weren't enough, Anthony Davis is also listed as probable due to low back tightness for a team that desperately needs to avoid sliding further down in the standings.

"I don't want to be 2-8 at all," Davis told reporters. "We got guys out. You got to look at big picture as it's only been 10 games, but 2-8 is a hard pill to swallow."

For a team that has a fanbase that expects them to compete for a championship every year, being a half-game ahead of the last-place Houston Rockets in the Western Conference after 10 games is unacceptable and the pressure is mounting for a turnaround.

The Lakers new head coach Darvin Ham is aware that his team needs to stop the skid and get back in the win column, quick, or it's going to be a long season.

"I would say this, man. And write it, quote it, however," Ham told ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "This may be happening now at the outset of what we're trying to force to be a culture change in terms of getting us back to being highly competitive on a highly consistent basis, but it's not going to always be like this.

"We're going to turn the corner. I didn't come here to lose. They didn't bring me here to lose."

L.A. certainly didn't hire Ham to tank, they brought him on to figure out the conundrum of Russell Westbrook.

Right away, he's made headway with that directive by re-aligning the former MVP to the bench.

Westbrook initially balked at the idea of having to be a reserve, but it has paid dividends for him personally.

Much-maligned for his shooting woes, shot selection and decision making while in the starting lineup last season, Westbrook is now shining as the team's Sixth Man.

Despite the Lakers' disastrous start to the season, the nine-time NBA All-Star is showing signs of life, averaging 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game in the six games he's come off the bench.

Additionally, he's shooting 48 percent from behind the arc and proving that's he's not the only thing that's wrong with the Lakers.

Case in point: after the first half of action in the loss to the Jazz, Westbrook had 18 points on 6-of-9 from the field (2-of-2 from three) and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

And according to StatMuse, L.A. is +5 with Westbrook on the floor, as opposed to -47 when he's on the bench.

That's quite the turnaround.

So what is wrong with the Lakers?

First of all, collectively, they can't shoot.

"We gotta be able to step up and make a shot," Ham told reporters after losing to the Jazz. "If you can score, we'll work you out tomorrow."

Imagine needing shooters to the point of soliciting scoring help from reporters in a press conference, even in jest.

That's how bad things are in L.A.

Even worse than the Lakers' offensive woes is their decline on the defensive end.

Currently, they have a defensive rating of 110.8, which is good enough for 12th best in the league.

But after giving up 139 points to Utah (average of 134.5 points in two losses), it's evident that their intensity on that end has taken a step back.

"We have lost all of our defensive intensity and that’s what is killing us," Davis added.

Davis is still rallying to be moved to the power forward position, so that he can roam on defense to help, but with no one protecting the rim behind him, that's a move that Ham can't make.

Should L.A. find a way to reshape its roster, it might be prudent to go out and sign players like DeMarcus Cousins or Tristan Thompson to play center, so Davis can float back to the 4 and be the versatile defender he was during the team's championship run in 2020.

Until then, though, Ham has his hands full trying to turn the page on the Lakers' disastrous start to the season.

"I don't want anyone around me with a defeatist mentality," Ham added. "I don't want anyone around me that's not competitive. I don't want anyone around me that's selfish. We got to be on the same page at all times, through the good, bad and indifferent."