D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

I have been disappointed with Russell's shot, not going to lie about that. But man what a HORRIBLE approach by Byron with him in the opener. I am at a loss of words at how bad that was.

 

Shockingly bad, even with the low expectations of having Byron Scott as your coach. I wasn't okay with Russell being invisible in the first half but what the heck, first game, we're winning, whatever. But why start him then? Russell's not a guy we brought in to stand in the corner, he's a playmaker for crying out loud.

The fact that we continued on in the 2nd half with the same crap as we blew the lead is alarming. D'Angelo does have to force the issue a bit, he did seem a bit tentative.

 

There is one coach Byron outsmarted. That being himself. Hopefully now we can get to serious business. A talent like Russell you just have to let play. He will figure it out.

 

As long as he shows brilliance, like 20+ points or 10+ assists, I could care less if he has 15 turnovers. It's easier to fix the mistakes than it is to build a strength. Towns and Okafor are quite consistent with their brilliance. Russell has only shown glimpses.

 

Wouldn't say Towns was brilliant last night in first game but it was a nice game. Randle played him virtually even, maybe a tad more impressive with 1 turnover to his 3 in just 2 more minutes.

 

Russell was hurt in Summer League so I put zero stock in that. Yeah he didn't have a great pre-season, but I don't think he was horrible either. He averaged only 15 points and averaged 6/3. Don't really see what's so concerning. The bottom line is this young guy has played one actual game in the NBA and it's ridiculous to be saying the guy is a bust. Not saying you're implying that, but a lot of people I've seen in other forums are. Give the kid some time. It's gonna take some because it was clear from the get go he wasn't gonna be an immediate impact player. It's probably gonna take Russ 2-3 years before he reaches his full potential. There's gonna be a lot of growing pains and same is true for this team.

 

BUST

 

A double-double for a rookie debuting in a NBA game is brilliant I think.

 

I just want him to show me he could do something great with consistency. Towns is showing his versatility, as advertised. Okafor is showing his low-post game, as advertised. Russell was supposed to be a great shooter and passer. We saw glimpses of his passing ability against inferior competition in the summer league, but now it's gone. And where's the shooting?

Quite frankly, I'm tired of excuses suggesting that he's still young and needs time to develop. That's the BS the Lakers FO has been feeding us since draft night. I wanted Okafor for months and I'm not buying it. You have to realize he was picked #2 in the strongest draft class perhaps since 2003. There's a certain level of expectation when you are selected over a "sure thing" like Okafor.

I'm not suggesting he's a bust. I've given the FO the benefit of the doubt that they're right about the superstar potential, and I could see he's got something special in him. But he needs a reality check and develop a sense of urgency that he was taken before Okafor. I've seen too many Youtube clips of him acting like a superstar and him joking around on the bench when he hasn't proven anything yet. That kind of behavior pisses me off and makes it even harder to be patient, tbh.

I hope he proves me wrong in the next few games. The pressure is on though (whether he likes it or not) so sooner the better.

 

After KAT was gone, I was more that ok with Russell (maybe because Logo fooled me) and wanted no part of Jah. Let's hope for the best and give him more than ONE game to show what he's got .

 

hey I was joking about the bust comment

 

Wow. We're really just going to ignore his lack of touches and playing out of position.

Sigh.

 

I would like nothing more than to go the rest of the season without reading anything about Okafor. He is a 76er period. I don't see any reason to discuss him on the board and it's basically cherry picking his good games and ignoring his flaws and any stats that go against him. But that's just how its gonna be for the time being. Anytime he has a good game we will hear about it and when he has a bad game the crowd will go quiet. Just gonna have to deal with that for a while.

But some of the views on Russell thus far are just off. His shot isn't falling but overall he isn't doing nearly as bad as folks seem to believe and the advanced stats show that. Just wanted to add a little perspective to all this before the angry mob runs the kid out of town.

 

^ i guess Byron didn't get the memo...

 

Byron. He wants to think outside of the box.