The Los Angeles Lakers to shoot poorly in the series against the reigning NBA champions Denver Nuggets. But that was exactly the case Saturday night, as the Purple & Gold suffered a 114-103 loss to the Nuggets on the road. The Lakers shot nearly 50 percent from the field in the entire game but were just 41.7 percent from the floor in the second half when the Nuggets really turned on the heat and shifted the tide decidedly to their favor.
One Lakers player who failed to find his rhythm in the series opener versus the Nuggets was starting point guard D’Angelo Russell, who finished with just 13 points on 6/20 shooting from the floor. He was especially horrible from behind the arc, where he converted just one of his nine attempts.
Darvin Ham Still Believes in D’Angelo Russell Despite Los Angeles Lakers Guard’s Cold Shooting in Game 1 vs. Nuggets

After the loss to Denver, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham sounded as though he’s still going to let Russell start in Game 2.
Via Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
Darvin Ham says he wasn’t going to bench D’Angelo Russell because of one poor shooting performance. He noted that Russell helped LA get to this point and shot well recently against New Orleans.
Ham was correct about Russell in the Play-in Tournament game versus the New Orleans Pelicans in which the former Ohio State Buckeyes star scored 21 points and shot 5/11 from a 3-point distance. Back in the regular season, Russell also posted a 41.5 percent accuracy from 3-point distance. But the Lakers need Russell to find his touch soon, as they look to break the momentum of the Nuggets, who could dig Los Angeles a deeper hole in Game 2 this coming Monday.

Russell also spoke about his horrid shooting, saying that he’s still looking forward to making positive impact on the Lakers going forward in the series.
Great looks, I mean, I can’t be mad. I mean, I don’t recall the last time I got 20 shots. So for me to get 20 good looks, not 20 good, probably five or six of them were questionable, but I know what I’m capable of.
So honestly, I’m excited, excited about that. You’re excited for game two, just because… I mean, I just feel like, you know, sometimes the ball just don’t fall, you know? I was locked in on all the details and the little things, just try to, you know, stay on the floor defensively and things like that. And we look up your shots aren’t falling. So no, no love loss. Can’t be upset about that one. Be ready for the next one.
“I know what I’m capable of.. so honestly I’m excited about that… sometimes the ball just doesn’t fall”
– D’Angelo Russell isn’t worried 👀
pic.twitter.com/BRVjG5FzRx— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) April 21, 2024

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