D’Angelo Russell made a statement about Darvin Ham’s decision to start the starting lineup on the opening night of a back-to-back when the Lakers were losing badly.
After the Houston Rockets thrashed the Los Angeles Lakers 135-119 on Monday night, D’Angelo Russell seemed to take a jab at Darvin Ham. Russell was questioned about whether to try to win a game when down by thirty points or to concentrate on the next one because they are playing back-to-back games.
“I don’t know when we were behind 30, but I believe we should have made that decision around 7-8 minutes into the fourth quarter, after one more push,” Russell remarked. “That’s on coach again, and we have a back-to-back, so I think it’s something we should definitely do.”
The Lakers fell behind by thirty points in the third quarter, and even though they made some progress in the fourth, they were consistently behind by ten points. Despite this, Anthony Davis and Taurean Prince were the only players who did not play during the majority of the last quarter—three of the five starters were on the court.
Although this wouldn’t be too problematic in most situations, the fact that this game against the Rockets is the first of a road back-to-back presents a problem. You would think that saving energy for tonight’s Lakers game against the Atlanta Hawks would be a wiser move than trying to rally from a significant deficit.
It’s evident from Russell’s comments that Ham held a different opinion. As I mentioned earlier, the Lakers did get close, but you didn’t see them completing the turnaround and getting the win.
Now, you can be sure that Ham will come under fire if the starters show signs of exhaustion against the Hawks. Every day, more and more people are calling for his head, and it doesn’t seem like his players are behind him either. LeBron James gave Ham the death stare during this loss, and it seems like there is trouble in Laker land.
The Lakers’ Possibility of Keeping D’Angelo Russell Has Increased
A few weeks ago, it appeared inevitable that the Lakers would send Russell out of town prior to the trade deadline of February 8. Now that things have turned around, though, Russell’s performances have made the Lakers more likely to hold onto him.
Regarding whether D’Lo’s play lessens the likelihood of a trade, Jovan Buha of The Athletic responded, “Yes, at least as far as the Lakers are concerned.” “Russell’s most recent performance has undoubtedly complicated their choice. Since reentering the starting lineup on January 13, he leads the team in points (27.4) and assists (6.6). Not only is this his best stretch of the season, but it’s definitely the
Russell shot 3–12 from three against the Rockets, but he still finished with 23 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, and 1 steal despite his poor shooting performance. Currently, the 27-year-old has shot 50.8% from the field and scored at least 20 points in each of his last seven games.
Undoubtedly, this is one of his best career phases. Though I wasn’t sure if it would be enough to keep him from getting traded, it seems the Lakers are thinking twice about losing such a great player.
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