The Los Angeles Lakers have been helped by a red-hot D’Angelo Russell since he was reinstated into the starting lineup 24 games ago.
Russell missed one game due to injury, but is averaging 22.5 points and 6.5 assists with shooting times of 47.0/44.4/85.1 in his last 23 games – all starts – and the Lakers are 15-8 in those games. It’s arguably the best basketball sequence of his career.
Monday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Russell once again showed how big a role he played in the Lakers’ success. He scored a game-high 26 points on 9-of-17 from the field as the Lakers took care of business against the top seed in the Western Conference at the time. The highlight for Russell, however, was a series of three straight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that iced the game.
On the final triple of this sequence, Russell passed the ball to LeBron James, who immediately returned it and told Russell to shoot. He went between the legs, then stepped back and drilled a 3. He recalled that moment as part of another incredible outing.
“Yeah. I was going to shoot him before I passed him but I heard him and I didn’t know what he was saying, I thought he was about to attack Chet and such. But when I heard him say “Shoot, go for it”, I didn’t even know I made the shot. I kind of didn’t see the rim and just threw it up there. Shot lucky,” joked Russell.
For Russell, this recent step has been about finding consistency on the field as a way to be consistent on the field.
“Just consistency. The more my game days can be like the last, I think it allows me to start earlier,” Russell said. “Any problem in rotations, alignments, all that becomes a distraction. For me, I try to let distractions be distractions and not let my mind think about them. I always talked about it when I first arrived [Austin Reaves], I tried to give him that. I tried to let him know that a lot of things can distract from the main goal of putting the ball in the hoop.
“I’ve seen him over time change his approach a little bit and stay locked in when things can get like that. So I recognize it and try to attack it.
Through it all, Russell admitted there are times when he’s been too focused to take it all in, but he knows how special what he’s done and who he’s been with during this process is .
“Right now it’s not, but when I watch the game tonight and my friends send me stuff like that, it helps me realize that you’re really doing this, that you’re really there,” Russell said. “The GOAT is like partying with you, it gets crazy when you go back and watch it. But for me, I try to stay in the moment, stay locked in and again, it’s a distraction, right? If you think about it, you’re locked into the game and you’re still in fan mode, it’s hard. So for me, I try to leave all that at the door but I’m still a fan of the greatness around me, I recognize it and appreciate it too.
The Lakers have been looking for a third star for several years now to raise their ceiling. But in Russell, they found a perfect offensive complement to James and Anthony Davis. When he is at his best, the Lakers become a tough team to beat.
D’Angelo Russell makes up for his lack of athleticism with work ethic
Russell admits that among guards, he may be one of the slowest in the league. But for him, it’s just motivation to work hard in other areas be what a team needs him to be.
“You don’t see me much in this league as a non-athletic, y’all laugh, but I like to find a way to be valuable and relevant to a team in the style that I do. I’m probably the slowest guy in the NBA, but I’m always trying to be in the right spots, study the film and work my way to the right positions and spots to help the team.
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