Lakers Get First Preseason Win, Darvin Ham Defends His Work as Lakers Coach

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

On the one hand, nobody ever really remembers who wins a preseason game.

On the other, it's always better to win, and the Lakers 107-102 win over Milwaukee Thursday night represents a good result, and reflected an approach to the preseason the team has had throughout this October that is different than last. The Lakers have been far more invested in their work, both in games and in practice, as represented by who is playing, and how hard, and things like the enthusiasm shown by starters for watching the camp invitees and G-Leaguers close out a win.

Thursday's victory was sparked by Quincy Olivari, a rookie Exhibit 10 signee from Xavier, who was +20 in nine minutes of play, and garnered a ton of praise from JJ Redick.

Whether fair or not, the coaching change seems to have sparked an enthusiasm among players (remember, it's basically the same group of guys). They are, to a man, praising Redick, and nobody is really taking up for Darvin Ham. For a team that has to get off to a good start and leverage whatever advantages returning last year's roster might bring, the idea of maximizing the preseason is important.

Ham, meanwhile, spoke to ESPN's Dave McMenamin on Thursday, and -- as you'd expect -- expressed gratitude for the opportunity he had in LA (it does him no good to say otherwise, even if he thinks he was treated unfairly) while sticking up for his body of work.

Hopefully, this works out for everyone. Ham, eventually, gets another job and learns from what went wrong in LA last season. The Lakers, meanwhile, hope to improve with Redick on the sidelines, and give themselves a chance to improve this year that simply wouldn't have been able to happen had Ham returned for a third season.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers win their preseason opener.

SEGMENT 2: Ham reflects on his time in LA.

SEGMENT 3: Quincy Olivari makes a name for himself with a big fourth quarter.

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