The Lakers’ struggle against the Denver Nuggets continues. Following a Game 1 loss to the defending champions, the Lakers now stand at 0-9 against them. D’Angelo Russell, who looked like he was on a redemption tour right before the playoffs, went ice-cold against the Nuggets. Just like he did during last season’s Western Conference Finals. Back then, Russell averaged just six points, shooting a dismal 13% from the three-point range. This time, although slightly better, he was still underwhelming. Stephen A. Smith, who had hoped for a Lakers resurgence, didn’t mince words when criticizing the Lakers point guard.

In a recent episode of ‘The First Take’, Smith called out D’Lo for his lackluster performance, stating, “This brother was so awful in the Western Conference Finals last year, he lucky he is wearing a Lakers uniform. That’s how bad he was. And so he talked about how the negativity ultimately propels him and elevates his level of play and turns him into what we saw him be in the second half of the season, yet conveniently, right on cue, the second the Denver Nuggets show up in the arena…what do you do? You, D’Angelo Russell, show up, and you look as anemic as ever.”

Last season, Russell was so bad against the Nuggets that the Lakers almost let him leave for nothing in free agency. However, with neither side finding a preferable alternative, he resigned. The 28-year-old guard later revealed that he used this negativity to fuel his second-half resurgence, averaging 19.2 points post-All-Star break. However, all that work proved futile as he stood against the Nuggets in the playoffs once again.

Russell had a rough night as he struggled to find his touch, finishing the game with only 13 points, three rebounds, and three assists. The same D’Lo, who was shooting 45.6% from the floor and 41.5% from three this season, connected only 6-of-20 and 1-of-9 from the deep in the playoff opener. However, despite an off night, head coach Darvin Ham refused to bench D’Lo.

Why did not head coach Darwin Ham bench D’Angelo Russell?

Russell started the game well, making three of his first four shots. However, things went downhill after this stretch. It got so bad that the fans were requesting Russell to be benched as the Lakers were trying to claw their way back. However, Darvin Ham stuck with Russell till the end. In a post-game interview, he explained his decision, stating, “D-Lo is a huge reason why we’re here in the first place. I’m not going to bail out on my player just because he’s missing the shots that he normally makes.”

This decision makes sense for a few reasons. For one, D’Lo is a streaky shooter, so you never know. There have been multiple occasions in this season alone when he started slow and got red hot during the final moments of the game. Moreover, as Ham points out, Russell is a huge reason why the team is in the playoffs in the first place.

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From carrying the team in the absence of key players to giving them a late-season boost, Russell has played a huge role in whatever success the Lakers have enjoyed so far. To add to it, it is never a good idea to bench a player in Game 1 and expect them to bounce back in the next one like nothing happened. So, it was for the best. Hopefully, D’Lo can once again channel all this criticism into his game tonight.