D’Angelo Russell appeared to take a bit of a shot at Darvin Ham after the Los Angeles Lakers were blown out 135-119 by the Houston Rockets on Monday night. During his postgame press conference, Russell was asked about deciding between trying to win a game when down by 30 and focusing on the next one, as they are on a back-to-back.
“I don’t know when we were down 30 but I think in the fourth quarter around 7-8 minutes, one more push, and that’s when that decision should be made,” Russell said. “Once again, that’s on coach and we got a back-to-back so I think it’s definitely something that we should do.”
(starts at 18:13 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yYOVVfX-iI
The Lakers went down by 30 points in the third quarter, and while they closed the gap in the fourth, they always trailed by double digits. Despite that, three of the five starters were on the court for much of the final period, with only Anthony Davis and Taurean Prince not seeing any action.
While you wouldn’t have much of a problem with this in most circumstances, the issue here is that this game against the Rockets is part of a road back-to-back. The Lakers play the Atlanta Hawks tonight, and you’d think conserving energy for that contest would be the smarter thing to do, than attempting to come back from a huge deficit.
Based on what Russell said, it is clear Ham thought otherwise. As I mentioned earlier, the Lakers did get close, but you didn’t see them completing the turnaround and getting the win.
Now, if the starters appear fatigued against the Hawks, you know Ham is going to be put on blast for it. Calls for his head are growing louder with each passing day, and it doesn’t appear as if he has the full support of his players either. During this loss, LeBron James gave Ham a death stare, and there appears to be trouble behind the scenes in Laker land.
The Likelihood Of The Lakers Keeping D’Angelo Russell Has Grown
Just a few weeks ago, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that Russell would be shipped out of town by the Lakers before the February 8 trade deadline. The situation has changed now, though, and the Lakers are more likely to keep Russell following his recent displays.
“Yes, at least as far as the Lakers are concerned,” wrote The Athletic’s Jovan Buha on if D’Lo’s play makes a trade less likely. “Russell’s recent play has certainly made their decision harder. He’s leading the team in points (27.4) and is second in assists (6.6) since re-entering the starting lineup on Jan. 13. This is not only his best stretch of the season but undoubtedly the best stretch of either of his Lakers tenures and one of the best of his career.”
Against the Rockets, Russell struggled with his outside shot, going 3-12 from three, but still finished with 23 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, and 1 steal. The 27-year-old has now scored at least 20 points in each of his last seven games and has shot 50.8% from the field in that time as well.
This is certainly one of the best stretches of his career. I wasn’t sure it would still be enough for him to avoid being traded, but it appears the Lakers are now having second thoughts about parting with someone who is playing ever so well.
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