Darvin Ham sends revengeful message via Doc Rivers before game vs Lakers  

Former LA Lakers coach Darvin Ham was gunning for revenge as the Purple and Gold host the Milwaukee Bucks at the Crypto.com Arena on Thursday. Ham, now an assistant coach with the Bucks under Doc Rivers was fired after the previous season's first-round exit and was replaced by first-time coach, JJ Redick.

Speaking ahead of the matchup, Milwaukee HC Doc Rivers had a message from his assistant coach wanting to get the better of the already short-handed LA outfit. Via Sportskeeda's Mark Medina:

Bucks coach Doc Rivers asked if Darvin Ham views this game as a revenge game. Doc joked, “Yeah, he told me he wants to kick the Lakers’ ass.”

LA made the Western Conference Finals under Darvin Ham's first year and made the first round in his second. Both their exits came at the hands of the Denver Nuggets who were beaten twice in the regular season this time around.

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Short-handed Lakers take on Damian Lillard-less Bucks amid Darvin Ham's revenge game approach

It will be a depleted LA side unit that takes the floor against the Milwaukee Bucks. The visitors will be without Damian Lillard, but the Lakers will have more than one key name missing the matchup.

Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith, Jarred Vanderbilt, LeBron James, and Rui Hachimura will all miss the Friday showdown which marks the second game of their back-to-back. Earlier, JJ Redick said he was 'hopeful' that James would suit up for the Saturday clash against the Chicago Bulls.

For now, the Bucks appear to be favorites to walk away with a win, but stranger things have happened in the NBA, and only time will tell if they can snap their two-game skid or be stunned by a short-handed LA outfit. Both teams are top five in the standings in their respective conferences.