Coming out of Ohio State D’Angelo Russell was billed as a complete offensive player. Yes, his outside shooting and court vision were highlighted as real strengths, but when watching tape of him there were so many other aspects of offensive basketball he excelled at – especially as a scorer. He possessed a polished mid-range game, had a nice floater, could get to the rim and finish, and could work in the post against smaller defenders.
Early in the year it was only his mid-range jumper (specifically out of the P&R) and his 3-point shot (mostly as a spot up option) which carried over most quickly. However, in the 2nd half of the season, we have seen the more of the offensive prowess he showed in college start to surface in the pros. Especially his work in the post.
Russell in the post. This is a real thing.
— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) March 9, 2016
Russell first started show glimpses of his ability in the post at the turn of the year. At that time Mark Medina sat down with Lakers’ assistant coach Larry Lewis (who Russell has credited in interviews) and Lewis spoke about his point guard’s work from the block:
He has potential on the block that I don’t think anyone has seen yet. Over the past five or seven games, there have been glimpses of him in the post. But he’s got a lot of talent on the block. I really believe in that. I believe that it’s something that can help us win. Without a doubt, he’ll do that for the rest of his career.
The game is really about mismatches. The more mismatches that are created, it leads to advantages. If he’s playing against a smaller, quicker guard and that guard can beat him off the dribble, he can counter that by being bigger and stronger than that guard. He can pound that guard on the block. If he is having an advantage over me, I also have an advantage over you.
Russell has made Lewis seem prophetic with those comments.
Per NBA.com’s Synergy statistics, Russell really has become one of the better post scorers in the league. And not just for a guard — I mean for all players. For the season, for players with more than 50 post-up possessions, Russell ranks 15th in the NBA, scoring .98 points per play. This number places him in a tie with Russell Westbrook, only slightly below Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge (both at .99 PPP) and slightly above DeMarcus Cousins and Karl Anthony-Towns (both at .95 PPP).
Russell’s volume of possessions in the post isn’t near what those big men put up, but he’s a guard. He’s doing most of his work out of the P&R, in isolation from the perimeter, and as a spot up option. But just because Russell isn’t spending a lot of time in the post doesn’t diminish his value to the Lakers or make how he’s scoring there less impressive. He’s showing an ever evolving game from the block, working over defenders with a nice array of moves.
Check out this sampling just from the last 10 games:
This possession against Kyrie Irving shows a combination of strength, patience, and his great shooting touch. Look at how Russell backs down Kyrie, doing a great job of re-establishing the post after the ball gets poked away. Once Russell gets to a comfortable spot, he simply turns away from the ball pressure and sinks a fading jumper.
That type of poise isn’t rare, either. Against the Nets we’ll remember Russell’s huge scoring night, but so much of his success came via recognition of situations and then simply hitting shots against a defender who he put into a disadvantageous situation.
Here Russell finds the much smaller Shane Larkin defending him. So rather than trying to beat him off the dribble after facing him up, Russell simply backs him down by using his superior size. On this possession the shot clock is winding down, but Russell again shows good patience to work his way to a spot on the floor where he feels comfortable. Unlike the shot against Kyrie, Russell doesn’t feel the need to spin away from pressure, instead going right into a “Dirk” fade against the smaller man. Buckets.
As Russell starts to show that he can hit his jumper out of the post, he can then start to build off that move to keep defenders guessing.
On this play Russell finds himself in the post against Elfrid Payton. Rather than bang into his man like in the possessions above, Russell uses a quick drop step to spin off his man to the baseline. After completing his spin, Russell then uses his size and strength to keep Payton on his hip and finish through contact for the And-1.
Drawing fouls in the post is a great way for Russell to get to the foul line, especially since he’s not the most explosive athlete who’s going to get to the rim and draw shooting fouls against rotating help defenders. This too is a skill he’s continuing to develop, showing it more and more against defenders who he puts on an island.
Here Russell is isolated against Steph Curry, working his way deeper into the post while help lurks nearby. Russell does a great job of flattening out his angle to remove the help scenario then simply dips his shoulder into Curry’s chest, exposes the ball for a reach in, then sweeps his arms up through the contact to earn a trip to the foul line.
Again, Russell isn’t going to be a guy who out-jumps his man and then challenges a big man at the rim to earn FT’s. But by working in the post and picking on smaller defenders with his large frame, he can earn trips to the line and get the types of free points which not only boost a scoring average but help your team by getting teams into the bonus faster and slowing down the tempo when needed.
This isn’t just a random occurrence, either. Russell’s ability to draw fouls in the post is actually elite, though in a small sample. Per NBA.com’s Synergy numbers, for players with more than 50 post-up possessions, Russell is 3rd in the NBA at earning FT’s out of post up possessions and 1st in the NBA in drawing shooting fouls out of the post, both at 27.8%. I do think this number will go down as post up possessions become a bigger part of his game and, as a result, individual defenders and teams start to better scheme for his work on the block, but these numbers now are very encouraging.
Moving forward as Russell gets stronger and gains more experience, I can only imagine his work from the low block will only increase in volume and, hopefully, effectiveness. If that becomes the case, I can imagine the Lakers finding more ways to invert their offense and using Russell’s combination of scoring touch and passing acumen to do damage from spots on the floor guards typically don’t excel from.
Harrison says
Nice write up Darius, and I like the clips.
I like Russell’s potential down on the block as well. Size mismatch makes it easier to shoot over the defender. The one thing I hope to see improve is the offball movements when one player has the ball in the post. In one of the clips, I saw a lot of the players just standing around, ballwatching. If one or two of them can dive into the paint and the others shift around, maybe it can open up Russell’s options with his playmaking, but loving what I see so far.
BigCitySid says
— Nice write up D. It’s a beautiful thing to watch a player improve in front of your eyes unencumbered. Obviously still wondering how DAR will perform when expectations begin and winning games actually matter.
– Question, how well does DAR pass out of the post?
– Absolutely no idea which free agent(s) will sign with the Lakers, who they will get in the draft (think positive), which vets will be retained (hoping Bass continues to wear the FB&G), or who will be coaching. However I’m getting very excited.
– The Laker Quest for #17 has been derailed the last three seasons…starting next season they’ll be back on track with the best most hopeful season since 2012 – 2013.
– Lakers, 2016 – 2017, can’t wait.
karen says
Ooh no ! i just read lakers are considering keeping scott for next yr. That tells me they don’t expect to be able to sign any big time free agents in 2016.
Craig W. says
We absolutely must have someone on the wing who can defend. While the youngsters may improve, we will need someone always out there who can occasionally frustrate outside offensive rotations. IMO, this is more important than a big, rim protector. BCS is right though, we need to keep Bass and Black.
With Kobe, we have always been a team that tends to ball-watch on offense. This single habit might doom the current coaching staff, going into next year. If we are going to be smaller and faster, this bad habit should be thoroughly buried in the back yard. Russell’s post play is a great counterpoint to playing more open basketball and can be used to run down the clock at the end of games.
Paolo David says
I’m giddy on DAR’s postwork, actually his entire offensive game.
Also, love how he moves well without the ball when paired with a passing guard (ie. huertas).
On another note, what are your thoughts on his pairing with Clarkson? Granted, the minutes they’ve been on the court together were limited by the head coach, the past few weeks have shown us more.
Vasheed says
Great write up on Russell. We tend to pigeon hole Russell as a PG due to his ability to distribute the ball. However, he is a true combo guard capable of scoring too.
I hope next year will be the first year in a while the Lakers don’t have like 10 Power Forwards on their roster. Randle is solidifying his position as the starter and Nance as the primary back up. A PF who can switch over to Center I would consider an all but necessary role to fill and a guy who stretch the floor would be optional.
Bass seems like the ideal guy to bring back next year with a good mid range game, ability to play at either forward position and has done a decent job at Center this year.
Anthony Brown has played wing defense nicely for the Lakers this year. His presence on the court is still felt even if he doesn’t score very much.
For next year I’m mostly hoping for upgrades at Center and Small Forward. I think Hibbert has been a great presence in the organization but, his production isn’t worth the money or role he has been given.
LKK says
DAR’s post game becomes a great focal point for the offense if the Lakers can find some outside shooting on a continuous basis. When Russ punishes shorter guards on the block, he’ll draw double teams and his passing ability will create open shots for others. The team needs a three point specialist to fully take advantage of the opportunities DAR’s post game can potentially create.
KevTheBold says
Both Shaq and Kevin Ding anoint D’Angelo the next alpha dog to accept the torch from Kobe.
I know the pessimists and those who didn’t agree with the pick will say it’s too soon to tell, and other such smoke, but I have always believed D’Angelo was our next corner stone.
Barring injury, I believe he will lead us into the next era of success.
LordMo says
@Vasheed
Yup, the kid (DAR) is a combo guard and like I said before is better off the ball. Clarkson better on the ball but is shaping up nicely too as a combo guard.
@Kev
Still too soon to tell with this young core but I cannot wait till the training wheels come off after we secure the pick. They have yet to play in any meaningful games until then we really don’t know. Im high on the guards but not sure if they are superstar caliber but DAR is definitely All-Star caliber and Clarkson will make a couple if he keeps a starting role. Still have an eye on Randle for his defensive development and Nance needs offensive work but both are getting better.
Note: Mitch…. Don’t sleep on Gary Payton Jr…. Kid can flat out play and the stopper these PG’s won’t want to see!