Darvin Ham defends the re-signed LA role player he keeps benching.

Ham continues to believe firmly in his players, no matter what.

The Los Angeles Lakers beat down the Dallas Mavericks in stunning fashion on Wednesday evening by a score of 127-110. Los Angeles led the entire way, and they were propelled by the scoring of point guard D’Angelo Russell.

Russell scored 29 points to help them get the win, and it was a game that they really needed. Since re-joining the squad, Russell has been at the heart of criticism for his uneven play. However, his effort against Dallas demonstrated exactly what he could do on the floor.

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham defended Russell after his excellent effort against the Mavericks.

“We re-signed him because we felt he could help us. We still feel he can help us. We believe in him. Everyone continues talking about it; it’s that time of the year, I think, with the trade chatter … The reality of it is that we have everything we had down the stretch last year, as well as greater firepower. We can stop gazing around and just look at ourselves. There’s a ton of terrific basketball that we can play. He’s right at the vanguard of that.”

Russell has had his fair share of blunders this year, and he isn’t a perfect player. But he serves this squad well and has made all the effort to get better.

In 38 games played, he is averaging 15.7 points and 6.1 assists per game. But he has also shot 40.1% from three-point range, which has benefited this squad.

All of the different lineup adjustments for the Lakers have produced uncertainty and frustration for several players, including Russell. But he seems to be in a much better groove right now, and the hope is that it stays that way.

It remains to be seen if he will truly be traded at the trade deadline, but for now, he is their starting point guard. Russell has demonstrated that he can play inside this system, and he has done it fairly effectively.