A single year in a player’s career can fuel his rise or give a false sense of explosion. The 2018-2019 season is over D’Angelo Russell he seemed called upon to confirm all that was expected of him in high school and university. was named all star for the first time (as an injury substitute), captain of some brooklyn nets rebuilding and raising both his traditional stats and shooting percentages. It was the beginning of something big. However, in the four campaigns since that peak, the point guard’s value and performance have plummeted until he bottomed out this 2022-2023 season.
Like a movie script, now Russell is back where it all startedin the Lakers. The challenge is different, since his priority is to secure a contract for the future while helping the Californians on their way to the Playoffs.
The Lakers that D’Angelo returned to are not the same off season of 2017. After the rebuilding phase of which the Californians were a part orbited around Lebron James with the unknown constant Anthony Davis. At the same time, this is a franchise that needs scoring and outside shooting, which is exactly what Russell does best.
At 26, the point guard has lost the magic and some of the fire that characterized him in the past. An intangible he hopes to regain upon his return to Los Angeles, with a more organized framework and defined goals. The best proof of this was given in his premiere against an old acquaintance, Golden State Warriors, in which Darwin Hamm’s team won 109-103. In this Russell re-debut with the Californians, he delivered on everything expected of him: low profile, proper and without pretending to be something he’s not.
Euro-paces all this. pic.twitter.com/RgURqMbZts
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 12, 2023
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Although his work in distribution was a footnote, it is worth noting how well he performed in the instant lock, especially next to Anthony Davis. In this campaign at Wolves, despite being with a Gobert with whom he did not have a good relationship, he had managed to place himself in the 76th percentile with 0.97 points per possession. A positive performance that sums it up 9 of 12 field goals came via direct blocksconnecting 55.5% of his launch actions, the majority of them with A.D.
All this to close 15 goals, 5 rebounds and 6 assists and +12 in 35 minutes of play. How many times have you achieved these numbers this season before? Only once, in October against Spurs.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 12, 2023
D’Angelo Russell still has a long way to go from here to the end of the stretch for the Lakers to reach their full potential, but the first steps couldn’t be more positive given the state of the group.
The next challenge will be matching up with LeBron James, who missed the last game with ankle soreness.
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