D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

I wonder how many times he used that pickup line. "Hello ladies...any of you ever smoked a Cuban? *zip...thump* Anybody want to?"

 

Well said about Russell's real strength. He's definitely more of a scorer than a traditional PG, but I think that's okay. As for reining him in, I think that was a talking point the media used and it's not as if the coaching staff wants him to stop being who he is. I think Murmuys and Luke absolutely understand that Russell is a scorer first and they want him to do that, but they also want him to slow down and take the blinders off and move the ball when it's necessary.

The key difference between Lillard, Curry, and Russell is that the first two came into the league 3 and 4 years older than Russell respectively. They were already more mature as players and people and had better training on how to move the ball. They came in as scorers who could pass and find the right guys at the right time. It's unfair to compare them this early in Russell's development, but hey that's life.

Kyrie came into the NBA the same age as Russell and was immediately handed the keys to the car so he played more, had more opportunities, and was expected to do more. I think Kyrie might be more talented than Russell offensively and it shows in their early stats. In only 51 games Kyrie had almost the same amount of points as D'Angelo did in 80 games. Of course there's a huge difference in what they were asked to do. Kyrie started and ran the offense in all those games. D'Angelo came off the bench in 32 of his first 80 games.

I think overall though, this type of guard is the new wave. I don't necessarily subscribe to "positionless" basketball, but I do subscribe to every player being able to do multiple things, especially with the roster makeup we have now. I don't mind D'Angelo being more of a scorer than a traditional PG because he can pass effectively too. Between D'Angelo and Jordan we're going to have a very dynamic back court that compliment each other well. Jordan is quicker and more explosive while D'Angelo is smoother and can use his length more effectively. We don't need Steve Nash or John Stockton or Jason Kidd in this offense. D'Angelo will get his moments to shine and he'll follow closely in the footsteps of Curry. He's already looking far more confident and smooth from three and I'm really excited to see his growth this season. Hopefully he can put all the negativity behind him.

 

Thank you! I see what you're saying, but that's got to be on Luke. I think it's important for Russell to score first because once he can score at will, it opens up opportunities for everyone else. Since his greatest strength looks to be scoring/shooting, I want him to be as great as he can be at that and it will then open up lanes for everyone else. He's clearly got the ability to pass the ball well. I think it'll be incumbent on Luke to point him in the right direction which I think is what Murmuys meant when he said "rein him in".

 

^^^ That right there is why B0ron had the wood talk to his behind, screwing around in practice. What a cocky little s***.

 

Same clip as above, but with the added commentary from Devin Booker, haha

"That's some bull**** right there"

 

From the workouts and everything I have seen (albeit limited)...Russells shot has been on point and money.

It looks so effortless. He just lets it fly with a blazingly fast release. Impressive.

 

^offensively, thats definitely true. For Russell the question is also which position he can and feels more comfortable to defend.

 

Absolutely. I remember Jerry West talking about being a point or a shooting guard when he played and he would always say it didn't matter, that he was just a guard. That attitude is reflected in what GS is doing and it's definitely the way the league is moving now. It's less important for our point guard to control the ball and get all the assists and more important for everyone to get assists as the ball moves around the court.

 

Got to love it right? Even if it's Carmelo? Carmelo is a different cat in the Olympics. I wonder what he'd be like if he'd had a more stable landing spot in the NBA.