LOS ANGELES — At 25-30 and in 13th place in the Western Conference on February 8, the Lakers were fighting for their lives. Dealt a shallow, ill-fitting roster around a still-dominant LeBron James and surging Anthony Davis, Darvin Ham could do little more than pick between bad and worse lineup machinations.
After the following day’s deadline deals netted the Lakers a handful of mostly reliable rotation players for just one highly erratic one, the team has gone 18-9, tied for the third-best record in the league over that stretch. Now, as they look to turn a play-in bid into a postseason run, Darvin Ham is saddled with a new kind of problem — the luxury of choice.