After missing Thursday night’s game due to knee soreness, D’Angelo Russell returned to the Los Angeles Lakers starting lineup with another excellent performance.
Russell led the team with 30 points, 16 of which came in the Lakers’ 51-point second quarter, in a 17-point win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Russell has been playing at an unbelievable level over the past couple of months. He is getting every shot he wants and his 3-point shooting has been outstanding as well as he can get scorching hot at times. LeBron James has certainly taken notice of that as well and feels there are only a couple of players who can get as hot as Russell is capable of.
“When you have the ability to shoot the ball like that, you can always keep the defense at bay,” LeBron said about his Lakers teammate. “They never know if you’re gonna shoot, if you’re gonna drive, whatever the case may be. His range is pretty uncanny.
“There’s only a few guys that’s obviously in our league that can come down with the dribble and just raise from anywhere and he’s one of those guys. Once he gets going, you know he can run three or four of them in a streak together.”
There are some players who thrive more as catch-and-shoot players, but there’s only a handful like Russell who can handle the ball and then rise up with a quick release and knock down the 3-pointer. Obviously Stephen Curry is the poster child for that and the greatest shooter of all-time, but Russell really is at a level very few can match when it comes to all of those things combined.
It has certainly helped kickstart the Lakers offense and Friday night was one of their best performances. All five Lakers starters scored at least 20 points, but it was Russell who sparked things in that unreal second quarter.
Russell’s shooting ability makes the Lakers a much more dangerous offensive team and raises their ceiling immensely. LeBron and the rest of the team know this and will continue to push him and feed him the ball because once he gets hot there is no stopping him.
Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell focused on playing the right way, finding his rhythm
D’Angelo Russell’s performance has been a huge boost for the Lakers and the point guard has stretches where he gets scorching hot. He recently revealed what goes through his head during those times and it is more about feel and rhythm than anything else.
“Just the rhythm,” Russell said. “For me, just playing the right way and letting the game kind of come to me. It allows me to find that rhythm. Also my teammates, they draw a lot of attention so it allows me to attack the third and fourth best defenders. So I’m cool with that. But as far as what I’m feeling and things like that, I feel nothing. I’m not really thinking about anything. I’ve mentioned flow state a few times, just kind of get there and find ways to get the win.”
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