"Bro misses Darvin Ham" - Lakers fans react as Michael Malone makes striking claim about JJ Redick's coaching 

Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone has taken note of his LA Lakers counterpart JJ Redick's impact on the team. The Lakers weren't able to crack the Nuggets under former coach Darvin Ham. They were 2-5 in the regular season and 1-9 in the playoffs. But Redick has changed that with two wins against Denver in 2024-25, including one in Denver, and seemingly found a way to limit Nikola Jokic.

Ahead of Friday's game, Malone pointed out a multitude of changes the Lakers have seen between the past few years and now with Redick, saying:

"Different players, different coaches. There's a lot of change within the Lakers... They're a different team. JJ's coaching them and his fingerprints are all over this team."

After Michael Malone's kind words about JJ Redick's coaching surfaced, Lakers fans on X sought the opportunity to take digs at former coach Darvin Ham, who many wanted the LA to get rid of after last year's struggles.

One fan joked that Malone misses coaching against Ham:

Another tweeted:

One fan wrote:

"Hot Pockets didn't Coach, he drew stick figures on the board and used catch phrases. In a few more years he'll be fine, he wasn't ready for the Lakers job."

Another said:

"Nuggets fans pray every night dlo and ham is back on the lakers"

One fan added:

"lol JJ a decent coach but compared to ham he’s Einstein"

JJ Redick helps Lakers avoid season series loss for the second straight year against Michael Malone's Nuggets

The Lakers have avoided a season-series losing streak against Michael Malone's Nuggets in JJ Redick's first year as a head coach. LA was 0-4 against Denver in the regular season before the season began. The streak extended to five games after Redick's first game against the Nuggets ended in a 127-102 home loss.

However, Redick's Lakers flipped the switch from that point on against the Nuggets. They returned the favor with a 123-100 win in Denver as Luka Doncic produced a breakout performance in a Lakers jersey with 32 points.

Meanwhile, LA held Nikola Jokic to just 12 points on 2 of 7 shots despite not boasting a starting-caliber center on the team. The Lakers nearly went up 2-1 on the season with another stellar performance in Denver last Friday behind Austin Reaves' 39 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists.

The Lakers caused a near-upset without Luka Doncic, LeBron James and four rotation players, but a Jamal Murray go-ahead shot in the clutch led Denver to a 131-126 win. The Lakers ensured they evened things up with a shorthanded Denver without Jokic and Murray coming to LA on Wednesday.

Luka Doncic again wreaked havoc on Denver with a 31-point night to lead the Lakers to a 120-108 home win, tying the season series 2-2.