Los Angeles Lakers second-year point guard D’Angelo Russell got off to a good start to the season, and in turn the Lakers were the surprise of the NBA, beating teams like the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets.
Through the first 12 games, the Lakers were 7-5, and Russell was averaging 16.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.7 assists, playing the best basketball of his young career.
Russell then went down with a knee injury that caused him to miss about a month of action, and the team began to struggle.
The 20-year-old returned on Dec. 11 against the New York Knicks, but since returning, he has not quite looked the same.
He struggled on Tuesday night in a loss to the Utah Jazz, scoring just four points on 2-of-11 shooting and air balling a potential game-winning three resulting in a two-point loss to the Jazz.
After the game Russell talked about his recent play, saying that he lost his mojo and he needs to get it back, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
D’Angelo Russell (1/2): "I didn’t have my mojo all game, I need to get my mojo back individually so I can be the same, but…
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 28, 2016
D’Angelo (2/2): “….You got to live w/ it & die w/ it. If you take the shot you have to be able to take the criticism if you miss."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 28, 2016
In nine games since returning from the knee injury, Russell numbers have dipped a bit, as he is averaging 12.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. His shooting percent dropped from 42.3 percent to 36.1 percent.
Russell has shown his ability to score in his short time with the Lakers, and even Tuesday night against Utah he was able to get open looks, the shots were just not falling. So it is not time to panic just yet with Russell, who is capable of breaking out of this slump at anytime.