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Los Angeles Lakers: D’Angelo Russell Is Finally Breaking Out

By Nathan Grubel

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The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t had a successful season but their No. 2 draft pick D’Angelo Russel is showing signs of being a future star.

It’s no surprise the Los Angeles Lakers have come out of the gate struggling.

Usually the Lakers reload rather than rebuild, but unfortunately for them free agents and proven talent haven’t decided to sign with them of late.

Instead, they’re taking the time to develop the young players they’ve drafted over the last two years in hope that they’re part of a valuable nucleus in the future.

D’Angelo Russell is Los Angeles’ most recent lottery pick and many fans hope he’s the next star guard of the Lakers — except he didn’t have as dynamic of an entry into the NBA as the team would’ve liked.

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Early on Russell struggled shooting the ball with consistency and turning it over many more times than he should. His raw stats were down across the board from what he was able to do in college and he ultimately ended up out of the starting rotation and on coach Byron Scott‘s bench along with forward Julius Randle.

It’s never a good sign when a high draft pick is benched because generally the team they’re apart of isn’t good enough to compete for a playoff spot, giving them plenty of playing time to work through their mistakes and develop.

The good news is that Russell seems to have learned from some of his mistakes and is looking much more comfortable playing beside and against professional basketball players.

Over his last five games he’s scored in double figures and shot 50 percent or better in two of those contests. He’s had a few turnovers but that’s going to happen with any young player. The key is to contain those turnovers and make sure they’re not careless or miscalculated.

Russell usually makes mistakes because he’s ahead of himself. He sees plays unfold in his mind before they happen and hits players with passes they sometimes weren’t expecting. That’s a big reason he was a point guard coming out of college because of his unique passing ability.

He hasn’t been racking up giant assist totals since he’s been in the NBA. In fact he hasn’t had a game with more than seven assists. When you go back and watch the tape though Russell has plenty of highlight dishes that allow you to see why he was such a coveted player coming out of college.

He’s been making those plays more often too, which is a good sign for the Lakers and an aging Kobe Bryant. Bryant isn’t the isolation scorer that he once was in terms of breaking down his opponents, so the more looks he can get from his teammates the more efficient of a shooter he is.

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Russell and sophomore guard Jordan Clarkson make everyone’s lives easier, especially if they can prove to score the ball effectively from the perimeter.

It can take guys any amount of time to figure out the professional game. Some players never do. But I’m glad to see Russell answering the call of late. His numbers aren’t great across the board in terms of shooting (11.9 points per game on a .404/.321/.682 slash line), but there’s nothing wrong with his jump shot.

All he needs is repetition and practice so he can get used to the speed and physicality of the players around him.

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What I’m saying is be patient with Russell. He’s shown signs of greatness and there’s no way he’ll be a bust in the NBA. He has all the tools of an offensive star. The fact that he’s shown signs of future success is enough for me to sit back and enjoy watching his growth instead of picking him apart and not appreciating the flashes of greatness.

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