El Segundo— Darvin Ham will suffer with the same players if the Los Angeles Lakers sweep the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of their first-round series.
"I'm not changing my starting lineup," Ham said Friday after L.A. filmed instead of practicing.
Ham benched D'Angelo Russell for Game 4 of the Western Conference playoffs against the Nuggets a year ago, which L.A. lost 113-111.
Ham is sticking with his point guard after Russell went scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in Game 3 (0-for-6 from 3) and appeared disengaged in the fourth quarter Thursday as he sat on the bench alone while L.A. huddled.
"You want to give your players a chance to make good for themselves," he remarked.
There were questions after Game 1 and you saw our Game 2 performance. He worked on his stuff in the gym again, as usual.
He made a lot of money in Game 2. He helped us stay in the game, even if we lost."
Russell, who had a 6-for-20 shooting start to the series, scored 23 points in Game 2 and tied a franchise record for playoff 3s by going 7-for-11.
Select Red Wings eliminated from playoff race despite comeback victory against CanadiensRed Wings eliminated from playoff race despite comeback victory against Canadiens