Los Angeles Lakers: D’Angelo Russell Hopes To Be Better In Year 2

Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell hopes to improve on a somewhat disappointing rookie season.

Last year, the Los Angeles Lakers surprised a lot of people when they selected D’Angelo Russell with the second overall pick in the NBA draft.

Although the Lakers chose to pass on taking a big man, there was reason for optimism with their selection.

For starters, during his lone season at Ohio State, Russell posted impressive averages of 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per contest on shooting splits of .449/.411/.756.

Secondly, with Kobe Bryant playing in his final season, Russell was being groomed to be the heir apparent to the Legend that was the Black Mamba.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

In his rookie campaign, Russell’s averages included 13.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per outing on 41 percent shooting. Although the numbers were respectable, his production wasn’t quite on par with a player expected to be one of the cornerstones of the team.

Along with that, the Lakers finished with a 17-65 record, which was the worst win-loss total in the history of the franchise. Needless to say, Russell did not have the rookie season that he — and many others — had hoped for.

Despite the gloom and doom narrative, though, the 2015-16 campaign was not a total bust for Russell. In fact, there are a few interesting stats that should not be overlooked.

When he wasn’t sharing the court with Bryant, Russell averaged 18.7 points and 4.7 assists on a per 36 minutes scale. Furthermore, his usage rate increased from 21.0 to 27.9, and his assist percentage increased dramatically from 16.9 to 25.9.

In other words, Russell flourished when he wasn’t forced to defer to Bryant.

Fast forward to the present, things are a bit different. Bryant has retired and head coach Byron Scott was replaced by Luke Walton, who was an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors last season, ushering in a new era in Lakers basketball.

Prior to their first game of the season, Russell had this to say about how different this year’s team is compared to last year.

From ESPN’s Sam Alipour:

"“We’re all about playing together now … It’s not about one guy anymore. It’s about sacrificing for the team. Kobe deserved every bit of attention he got in his last year, but there’s freedom in Kobe not being around … There’s no one leader, no face of the Lakers.”“When we traveled to San Antonio last season, I noticed that it’s about everybody — they had all those household names, but the 15th guy got the same amount of attention as Tim Duncan, who’s a legend. I feel like we’re all buying into that concept. We’re a team now. And that’s exciting.”"

Based on those comments, it certainly sounds like Russell is looking forward to the post-Kobe era. And in the team’s season opener, the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 120-114.

Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers’ attack with 25 points off the bench, while Russell chipped in with 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the field.

Under Walton’s guidance, Russell will have more freedom to hone his skills as a playmaker, which is a good thing to say the least.

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And although the Lakers are at least a few years away from being a legitimate playoff contender, playing alongside a young nucleus that includes Clarkson, Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram, it appears that Russell is more than capable of taking his game to next level this season.