Darvin Ham says Lakers have to be better at ‘staying focused, staying positive’

Darvin Ham knows elimination is looming but stresses competitive spirit as the Lakers enter Game 4 versus the Nuggets.

The Lakers are down 0-3 in their matchup against the Nuggets and they are now just one game away from elimination.

No team has ever come back from 0-3 down to win the series and the Lakers will now attempt to do that against the defending champions.

Head coach Darvin Ham discussed the challenges of beating a Denver team they’ve lost to eleven times in a row.

“This team has been having the type of run they’ve had against our ball club, it’s a lot of disappointment,” Ham said after Game 3. “You have to do a better job of staying focused, staying positive throughout it all. Again, you have those disappointment moments…that disappointment can spill over two, three, four possessions.

“You see that someone makes a mistake, we drop our head, we start jogging back instead of sprinting. We have to fight through all that. This is a hell of a team. They’re the defending champions for a reason. I’ve been saying it since day one. They push you to the limit to try to beat them. You have to be ready for that fight, possession by possession.”

The Lakers have done an excellent job of staying focused during the first half of these Nuggets games. They’ve had a lead entering halftime in all three first round games and just get pummeled in the second half. So, there’s some credence to Ham’s words here. If the Lakers can keep up that energy they start games with, maybe they can close out the Nuggets and win, at the very least, Game 4.

“You have to be competitive, have competitive pride and attack each possession,” Ham said postgame. “You’re going to miss shots, but you’ve got to move on to the next play. One thing about this team that we’ve been really good at is having a next-play mentality; moving onto the next play, giving multiple efforts. It’s tough. It’s tough. Have to figure out how to get one on Saturday to stay alive.”

If they do win on Saturday, it will be with the same starting five, as Ham has already said he’s not making any starting lineup changes. Rolling with the same players who have yet to win a playoff game may seem like the definition of insanity, but given the Lakers bench has been awful, contributing on both ends of the floor, it’s hard to think of an adjustment that actually moves the needle.

This is the Lakers team.

If they’re going to dig themselves out of this hole, it’s going to have to be with the same players who got them here. We’ll see what kind of energy and focus they bring to Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.