Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham is getting a lot of heat on social media for the team’s inability to solve the Denver Nuggets riddle.

But for ESPN writer Tim Bontemps, the beleaguered coach is just the scapegoat.

“I’m not gonna sit here, Brian [Windhorst] and try to say Darvin Ham has done a perfect job. But let’s look at what to me the real problem with the Lakers is, which is the roster isn’t good enough, which is why they’ve lost [12] times in a row to the Denver Nuggets,” Bontemps said on the “Hoop Collective” podcast on April 26.

The real blame, according to Bontemps, for this Lakers mess should be on Rob Pelinka, the team’s vice president for basketball operations and general manager.

“Rob Pelinka was the one who traded Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who’s beating them now with the Denver Nuggets for Russell Westbrook,” Bontemps continued. “[Pelinka] was the guy who chose D’Angelo Russell over Mike Conley in the second Russell Westbrook trade.[Pelinka] was the guy who chose Talen Horton-Tucker over Alex Caruso and also just decided not to pay Alex Caruso whose under-market value contract at the time has only grown in that regard over the past few years with the Chicago Bulls.”

The seasoned NBA writer, who also wrote for The Washington Post early in his career, added more to the long list of what he thought was Pelinka’s blunders as the top decision-maker for the Lakers organization:

• Picking Jalen Hood-Schifino over the likes of Brandin Podziemski, Cam Whitmore and Jaime Jaquez Jr.
• Signing Gabe Vincent, who barely played this season with knee injury
• Turning down options on Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba which could have been expiring large contracts to make a move this season

Simply Not Good Enough Roster

Bontemps, however, clarified that Ham should come out unscathed.

“I’m not saying Darvin Ham is perfect,” Bontemps said. “Not saying he’s the second coming of red Auerbach. When you look at what’s going on with the Lakers, this team is not good enough. They have two great players in Anthony Davis and LeBron James. And those guys combined to play 147 games this season. The fact that this team is in the play-in mix because of that means the rest of this team around them is simply not good enough to be with the Lakers [and go where they] expect to be which is contending for Western Conference titles and [NBA] championships.”

The Lakers will try to avoid elimination and extend the series this Saturday, April 27, at Crypto.com Arena.

If they lose and their season ends tonight, the blame game will commence immediately, if it has not started yet.

Darvin Ham Sticks With D’Angelo Russell

Ham decided to stick with Russell this time, unlike last year, when he yanked out the underperforming point guard from the starting lineup.

The Lakers coach told reporters following Friday’s practice that there will be no changes to his starting lineup, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

Russell took a lot of vitriol from fans and NBA analysts for the viral video that showed him looked detached from the team after going scoreless in their Game 3 loss.

Former lottery pick and current ESPN analyst Jay Williams slammed Russell’s unprofessional behavior on the April 26 episode of “Get Up.”

“I don’t know if he’s on his cellphone, or if he’s eating snacks — I don’t know what the hell it is,” Williams said. “As a former player, I always try to defend players and talk about things from their position. But while you’re in a playoff battle, even if there’s only 3.5 minutes left and your team is out of it, you still have one more game left.”

Another ESPN analyst, Stephen A. Smith called Russell a “disgrace” to the Lakers organization.

“D’Angelo Russell — what a disgrace and an embarrassment,” Stephen A. Smith said on “First Take” on April 26. “It’s hard to look at this brother. … It’s disgraceful.

LeBron James doesn’t deserve a teammate like that. Somebody like [Russell] that does not prioritize [his team], not focused, get rid of him.”