As a standout at Ohio State, Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell averaged 19.2 ppg and was the focal point of the Buckeyes’ offense. As a rookie in the NBA, Russell scored 19 points in 14 of his 80 games played. New Lakers coach Luke Walton is looking for Russell to seek his shot more in 2016-17, which was the case for the young guard in the team’s preseason win Sunday night. Jovan Buha of ESPN.com has more:
D’Angelo Russell bounced back from what he dubbed an “average” performance in the Los Angeles Lakers’ preseason opener, finishing with 21 points (7-of-14 shooting), 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 turnovers and a steal in 24 minutes in the team’s 101-97 preseason loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Following the game, coach Luke Walton offered constructive criticism of Russell’s performance, claiming the second-year point guard still needs to master the delicate balance of reading an NBA defense and deciding the proper time to shoot and pass out of pick-and-roll sets.
“He struggled a little bit early because he really is trying to do the right thing, do what we’re asking him,” Walton told reporters after the loss. “But at this level, there’s a fine line of doing what the coaches want and playing off feel. The guy has got a phenomenal feel for the game. So a lot of picks he was coming off, he was trying to play make even though he was open for the shot.
“So what we’re trying to tell him is, any time you’re open, shoot it. We want you to play make, we want you to get everyone involved from the point guard position. But when you’re coming off screens and you’re open, the best way to make that defense pay is to shoot. He’s one of the best shooters we have.”
Despite Russell’s advanced feel of the game, he struggled scoring out of the pick-and-roll last season, shooting just 38.3 percent and ranking in the 36th percentile among qualified pick-and-roll ball-handlers, according to NBA.com/stats.
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Walton added that the key isn’t Russell necessarily hunting for his shot more, but observing how a team is defending the Lakers’ pick-and-rolls, and then exploiting the holes in that game plan.
“It wasn’t being more aggressive. It was just getting better at recognizing what the defense is giving you,” Walton said. “If the defense isn’t giving you the shot, then we don’t want you shooting the ball.
“But the way Denver was playing, a lot of their bigs were dropping way back and D’Angelo is one of our best scorers. So if that’s the case, if he shoots 20 times at the end of the night, we’re fine with that because we think those are good shots.”
Given the pressure and expectations Russell faces while transitioning into being the face of the Lakers in the post-Kobe Bryant era, Walton acknowledges that such nuanced offensive concepts will take time to fully grasp and implement.
“It’s got to be challenging,” Walton said. “He’s [20 years old]. He’s the starting point guard for the L.A. Lakers. I think he’s naturally a scoring point guard. I think that’s who he is naturally as a player, but he wants to win. He’s willing to play the right way and willing to play how the coaches ask him to play, which is to move the ball and get it out of your hands and then get off some screens and turn in the weak-side shooter.
“All of these things, he’s willing to do right now. I think it gets tough when you’re that young and you’re still learning how to do it all to combine and to know when to do each one. We’ll stay on him about it.”
