D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

@therealdeal vs. @abeer3

 

"Their system is systematic."

 

I don't know which games we're watching here but this team does not look that way to me.

Well don't need a traditional point guard. We need another person with a pass first mentality that can get the team in better positions to succeed. Doesn't have to be Ball, just another initiator in the offense. Doesn't have to be a traditional point guard, just someone more naturally a passer and leader than Russell. Russell is inclined to score. Let's make that easier for him.

Lillard has McCollum, Lowry has DeRozan, Steph Curry has Thompson (and a handful of others), Tony Parker had Duncan and now has Kawhi. Not all of those partners are guards, but they're vital to the individual success of the player you named and the team's success as a whole. They are capable of creating offense while the other person can play off the ball. Rose and Westbrook are athletes that Russell couldn't dream of being and unless Russell can average a triple double and drag and average team to the playoffs I'm not sure you want that comparison. I'm not impressed with Bledsoe but he's always played with another guard (Paul, Dragic, Knight, now Booker). Thomas is having an aberration/Borderline MVP season in the East. Harden is your best bet for what Russell might be and you hate Harden. Unless you think Russell can be better than Harden in an open offense, we're not winning that way.

I agree. That to me is another need.

There are also multiple smart players on the Bruins capable of making reads and passes. Watching the Lakers I also was struck by Russell's ability to get to the midrange and nail jumpers off screens. Something he inexplicably refused to do a couple weeks ago when he was focused on being the point guard.

Incidentally It really helps Ball playing with Bryce Alford who can catch and shoot as well as read the defense. Sort of like what Russell would do next to him. I'm not arguing that Randle is a good fit next to Russell, I've said otherwise. Doesn't mean my point of having another floor initiator is wrong. The two are not mutually exclusive.

I'm not giving up on him. I want to help him thrive by putting him in situations better suited to his game. Of course I'd trade him tomorrow for George but that's because I'm sick of losing. If we're going to build around a Russell team, okay then it would help him to get another person to help share the load offensively. I can't understand why you don't agree with that.

 

Visiting this thread for the first time in literally months like...



My 2 cents: I'm still EXTREMELY high on Russell as a prospect. Fans want him to light the league on fire nightly at age 20 (now 21), and that's just not realistic (especially at PG & with Byron freaking Scott as your first HC). Russell still has elite traits that are starting to flash more & more frequently as he continues to mature.

This kid has rare court vision, a good J (that should continue to improve), and good length at his position. He's effective on the pick & roll, and once he has that little floater inside the free throw line down, he's going to look a lot like Chris Paul on those as he keeps the defender "in jail" on his hip and scores or creates easy buckets for teammates at will.

As much as I love Ingram as well, I still think Russell's ceiling is the highest of any player on our roster.

 

That episode was sooooo good.

 

Sports science also had Sasha Vujacic shooting free throws with giant hands on. I'm not saying Russell doesn't have good vision. I'm saying his good vision is not what makes him great. What makes him great is his scoring which is opened up by his ability to also move the ball. So why not give him someone else who can create offense so that we can accentuate his ability to score?

I'm pretty sure I never said I wanted a traditional point guard. I said I wanted to move D'Angelo to sg so that we could get someone who has a pass first mentality into the pg spot. Russell does not have that mentality. You compared (jokingly) Russell to Kobe. What position did Kobe play? What position does Harden play? What position would Russell be best at? sg. Boom. Lawyered. (been rewatching How I Met Your Mother).

Creators. They have the ability to create shots that take pressure off of Lillard, Curry, Parker. Those were the examples you gave and I gave you counters. For my money, I think this team could use another pg because D'Angelo himself is a better sg than a pg. If I thought D'Angelo was a better pg than a sg, I'd suggest bringing in stretch 4/5 like you are, but I don't. I think D'Angelo's two best offensive attributes are: pick and roll mid-range jumper and spot-up three followed very closely by his passing ability. I don't like his threes off the bounce as much as his catch and shoot. I don't like him at the rim because he's not athletic enough to make layups through contact. Get him to his best spots and to do that, I'd like another person capable of creating offense. For this team specifically, I think that's a pg.

The last thing? I disagree. I'm going to go get a talented player no matter what position they play. I mean the last thing I'd look for is probably a SF right now ironically since we've got an outside shot at George. If Ball or Fultz end up here, it's going to greatly help D'Angelo succeed. I'd also look into guys like Holiday, Hill, and Teague this summer and see what they cost. There's not exactly a plethora of stretch 4/5s out there unless you want to go after Ersan Ilyasova. And I remember you don't like Ibaka much right? I figure he'd be the perfect fit you were looking for.

In the end it comes down to you think he's better at pg than I do. That's fine. I don't really have the energy to keep going back and forth with these long posts. We can agree to disagree.

 

Sasha takes too much s***. He's just outside the top 250 for most threes hit in his career. He's 155th in NBA history in 3pt%. That would be like Russell handing out 2500 career assists at 4.44 per game. I'd like more, but I don't see that as a damning criticism.

 

It's tough with Russell--and I don't want to come across like a total apologist here--because his demeanor is a bit "laid back". Sam Perkins used to be like that. Kinda looks a little "chill" out there, and I think that can be mistaken for us fans seeing someone who looks like they don't give a crap. The kid has obviously been working on his game. Was just a few short years ago he entered college not even considered to be a "1 & done" prospect, and he turned himself into the #2 pick in the draft.

Someone who's worked that hard to improve their game obviously cares. I think his inconsistencies have a lot more to him learning a tough position and simply his youth more than he simply doesn't give effort.