LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers grabbed a much-needed win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. Prior to that, the Lakers had lost four out of five games since the winning the in-season tournament championship. The win came on the heels of Darvin Ham making a change in the Lakers starting lineup and starting Jarred Vanderbilt while moving D’Angelo Russell to the bench. Following the game, Ham issued a challenge to the team encouraging them to play like this all the time and not only when they have something to play for as per Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

“We have to get to the point where we can initiate, sustain and finish based on what we want Laker basketball to look like,” Ham said. “Not just if we’re playing for something or it’s something at stake or whatever. It can’t just be about that.”

The Lakers perfect record through the in-season tournament schedule and their play in non-tournament games clearly showed that they might have been taking some games a little more seriously than others. They also were desperate for a win against the Thunder and they having bragging rights on the line on national TV against the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day.

What Darvin Ham is asking for is for the LeBron James, Anthony David and the Lakers to take every game seriously as if they have something to play for. The Lakers are currently 16-14 and in ninth place in the Western Conference standings. They’ve had injury issues this season but have also had consistency issues from several players on the roster.