In my preview for Sunday’s Lakers vs. Nuggets preseason game, I wrote the following about what I was watching for with D’Angelo Russell:
Can Russell come close to duplicating Friday’s effectiveness? When Russell is on offensively, he is a terror. His feel for scoring is fantastic and his ability to get buckets at all three levels of the floor stands out compared to some of his PG peers. On Friday he had his entire game working and I would love for the same thing to be the case today.
Russell didn’t just come close to duplicating his previous game’s effort, he surpassed it.
I am usually someone who errs on the side of caution with young players and will continue to do so with Russell. He is, after all, only 20 and while I might tweet out things that say he’s really good (I believe he is), it is another thing to discuss with certainty just how good a guy is when he is this young. You might be able to do that with a Shaq/LeBron/Jordan/Magic — physical marvels who come into the league already so developed that their games translate immediately — or a Duncan/Bird type whose skill level and mental game(s) are already so refined that they can play at a high level immediately.
But Russell came into the league at 19, playing (I’d argue) the most difficult position in the league for a young player to adapt to, and is admittedly someone who has historically needed time to figure things out at every level of competition he’s seen. We saw how that played out last season. He was up and down, but the flashes were there.
Then, this summer, the light really seemed to come on. He dominated Las Vegas, often looking like the best player on the floor. That has carried over to preseason now too.
While his first game offered some struggles, the last two games have been tremendous. It’s not just that he is scoring well, it’s how easy he’s making it look. Check out his highlights from Sunday’s win:
https://youtu.be/UsHV_UzlThs
When Russell was coming out of Ohio State, this is what fans who supported his being drafted #2 overall thought was possible. Him playing in a heavy P&R system with a spaced floor leads to the types of looks he’s getting. Of course he has improved from last season — his handle is tighter, he’s stronger, and he has a better sense for where he needs to get on the floor and how to get there.
But the feel for simply putting the ball in the basket is still what stands out. The bank shot after the behind the back ball fake, the House of Slytherin drive off the high pick with the one hand scoop shot, the floaters when going down hill against a hedging big man…he has the entire package.
I don’t know what Russell’s ceiling is as a player. But he’s showing this preseason that he’s on the verge of making a leap. This doesn’t surprise me, but man, is it nice to see.
MT87 says
Russel looks poised to turn a lot of heads this year. I’m really impressed at how smooth he is moving around the floor and how easy he makes those off the dribble jump shots look. I think he is going to struggle with consistency a little bit this year, especially once defenses really start game-planning for him, but he sure looks the part of a future all-star.
Clay Bertrand says
Nice write up Darius. I share your hard to contain optimism and intrigue in Russell’s potential. I think we will learn a lot more about him when his offensive game is OFF. Will he have the poise and the recognition to get others going and impact the game in ways other than shooting??
He appears to be in the earliest stages of grasping the nuances of being a “scoring point guard.” Even Stu Lantz commented at one point that he was concentrating on his “other responsibilities” in the 3rd qtr when he had yet to score a second half point but was getting others involved.
In the 4th qtr. it seemed like he also balanced scoring with getting others, notably Randle, going on the scoring end. Maybe he didn’t “get him going” but he shared the ball and deferred to Randle’s game some. If he’s not going to be Huertas–setting up the offense and delivering the perfect passes to guys while not being much of a scoring threat–Russell will instead need to periodically defer to the creativity of his teammates and allow them the offensive usage to get their shots. Which may not translate into assists for Russell, but will still allow for a sharing of the ball and the offensive load. Other guys gotta eat too after all!
In my opinion, based solely on the ON COURT results, I think Swaggy can help this team for sure. His flashes of defense are the most he’s ever shown on that end at least in a Laker uniform. His range and his ability to manufacture a shot on a short clock is also valuable. I really am surprised to be saying I think he could be a good rotation player for us at the wing spots. I hope the off court issues have become minimal. I’d hate to cut the guy for nothing and have Houston or Foston sign him……
Houston is going to be a BITCH this year………..Mike D will have that offense on CRACK chucking 3s. The preseason numbers down there are already indicative of a Mike D team…………They’ve got Harden, Ryan Anderson, and Eric Gordon in their starting line up and its bombs away.
We may need all the SWAGGINESS we can get!!!!!
Clay Bertrand says
MT87
Good point about the Defenses game planning for Russell. It will be all the more important for him to be able to toggle from shooter/scorer to a DISTRIBUTOR and FACILITATOR role when the Defenses key on him.
Although he isn’t a total ball hog, he doesn’t have a pass first mentality. Which is ok in today’s NBA for a PG. I just hope he can feed his teammates enough to really gain their trust and not turn the other young players off by shooting too much. Of course, it helps IMMENSELY when you MAKE a good percentage of your large volume of shots. Along with his defense, balancing his scoring output with running the offense and getting others their shots will be the biggest key to Russell’s development as a PG.
If he proves unable to balance the two, we may learn that he is NOT a point guard and the roster may be shaped accordingly. This is the year we learn which way his talent will break.
Interestingly, though we very well could be without a 1st round pick this year, the crop of supposed Game Changing Point Guards in the upcoming 2017 Draft is REPORTEDLY stellar.
A Horse With No Name says
Clay Bertrand MT87 The template is there for DLO: Curry. High usage. Green light to shoot, move the ball skillfully for the best shot. That’s the elite shooter/pg model that DLO will follow. Pass first point guards are a thing of the past. It’s the ability to space the floor for others with great shooting from the primary ball handler that is today’s game changer. He’s the point guard, man.
basquiatball says
I thought it was interesting that Walton basically played a regular season rotation last night. There were 8 DNP-CDs including a few guys who are assured to make the team. In the closing minutes he put the lineup in he thought could get the team a W instead of giving time to camp invites. The fact that Nick Young was a part of that lineup also tells me he’s probably going to make the team (They may also be looking for a way to fit Thomas Robinson in since he’s the only camp invite to get minutes). It’ll be interesting to see if he plays a similar tight rotation the rest of the preseason, but maybe with different sets of guys to get longer minutes (giving Anthony Brown the same amount of time as Young got this game for instance)
Clay Bertrand says
A Horse With No Name Clay Bertrand MT87
Very true sir. He said he wanted to play like Curry when he was drafted……..It’d be a great self fulfilling prophecy!
Vasheed says
Clay Bertrand MT87
In one of Russell’s most stellar games for Ohio he was being pressured defensively and so Ohio reacted by using Russell as a catch and shoot guard. Russell erupted on a scoring frenzy. Russell is a combo guard in the truest sense of the definition. He can beat teams playing with the ball in his hands or off the ball.
A Horse With No Name says
Tomorrow’s game against Portland may provide insight into what Walton is planning to do with the laker starting backcourt. As of yesterday, Walton was saying that nothing was set. To whit, if ever there was a back court match up that cried out for a DLO/Clarkson pairing it’s going against Lillard/McCollum. The lakes need to match the energy, youth and skill of Portland’s explosive back court, and Lou can’t hold up his half of the bargain. Hope we get our dynamic duo together again.
Nick Young: Many here were adamantly opposed to Nick remaining on the squad because of legitimate concerns about chemistry. I think he’s shown thus far that he is handling himself well and playing hard at both ends. As I said before, you can’t have enough NBA level shooters–Nick is definitely one. Further, his ability to play the two and the three is very valuable to this team. After watching more of Ingram this preseason, I’m beginning to doubt that he is physically ready for significant minutes. He isn’t really able to withstand contact right now; simply put, physics aren’t in his favor. Thus we may very well need Nick’s offense at the three. Neither Randle or Nance have shown enough shooting skill to play out on the perimeter. Also, I would like to see a back up back court of Calderon and Nick, and thus keeping Clarkson as the starter.
Pbz06 says
Vasheed Clay Bertrand MT87
Yea, we have to get into the mindset of positionless basketball. The point is to have your 5 best guys and use their strengths/weaknesses interchangeably to get the most productive and efficient results. Right now, DAR is their best facilitator and scorerer. I always chuckle when people bring up his assists or try to say “he’s not a true PG” as some sort of backhanded compliment. In modern NBA, it doesn’t make sense to look at only counting stats like Assists and say that he’s not passing. Look at the hockey assists instead, and the flow/tempo of the game. I think DAR is learning still but looking good in those regards (plus, he finds you when you’re open or hot). He had some slick passes too, and I think the more he asserts himself as a scorer, it will open up his facilitation anyway.
Clay Bertrand says
Pbz06 Vasheed Clay Bertrand MT87
I very much agree with much of your post. I also agree with Vasheed that Russell is a TRUE Combo Guard. So I am somewhat troubled by using the misleading Stat of ASSISTS as the chief measuring stick for Russell’s effectiveness running the offense.
You point out the “hockey assist” which is really a much more accurate accounting of how Russell is doing and how the offense is functioning.
Beto Duran on Spectrum Sportsnet along with others try to peg an avg assist mark to what would represent a good season for Russell. Duran is challenging him to avg 6 assists which would appear reasonable if looking thru the traditional NBA PG lens. I don’t think he will avg that many and I don’t think it matters that much.
Clearly we want to see TEAM ASSISTS being higher as an indication of how the offense as a whole is sharing the ball. But I think you are correct in stressing the ASSISTS are not an accurate measure of Russell’s impact on the offense. We need to look at the bigger picture to gauge his progress and effectiveness.