D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

I'm hoping he gets the playing time and the green light to run the offense against the Mavs, they have one of the weaker PG rotations.

 

Russell isn't gonna have a 20/10 type game until they actually put the basketball in his hands. Playing him off the ball is an egregious misuse of his skill set. People criticizing Russell what do you expect the kid to do when Kobe and Clarkson are dominating the ball? They got a little bit going with some pick and rolls with D'Angelo and Tarik, but it was too late the game was already over. We need to be doing from the start of the game.

 

Well then he needs to be more assertive and find ways to be more effective. Demand the ball and get open. Make plays that help the team. Prove yourself in games.

I was looking forward to the Russell-Clarkson dynamic because both are combo guards and interchangeable. I feel Clarkson is capable of posting 20/10 off-ball. But Russell needs the entire system catered around him to be similarly effective? Really? His skill-set is that limited?

He's just a rookie, and quite frankly, the 6-8th best player on our team. He needs to prove himself first, just like Clarkson did last year. I don't even think he deserves to start tbh.

 

When did I say Russell needs the entire system catered to him? An actual system as a whole will help the entire team. It'll get Randle and Hibbs easier buckets inside. Kobe won't be camped out around the line. Clarkson can be deadly off the ball and attacking from the weak side like Kobe alluded too.

Russell was more assertive yesterday. He knocked in a couple of three's and continues to show an impressive shooting stroke. He made some nice passes, but once again guys can't finish. Would've had five or six assists if guys could catch the ball and finish. He got a couple of buckets in transition as well. I don't know what else he could've done considering the way they're using him.

 

Agree but the problem was that he was getting destroyed by rondo and the game was getting away before it even got started. He absolutely has to improve defensively if he wants to stay in the game. That's a reasonable expectation even of a rookie. I would think that guarding guys like Clarkson and Williams in practice will improve his defense but man he needs to improve a lot.

 

Yeah the offense just sucks as a whole. I feel Kobe is to blame for a large portion of that though. Just my opinion so no need to counter this point.

I'm not knocking on Russell for yesterday's game. He was solid. However, to reiterate my previous post, he needs to be more than solid. He's the #2 pick. He needs to be freakin spectacular. Show us plays that makes us go "Wow, this kid is the second coming of Magic. The FO knew what they were doing." Just once. Against real competition. Make the critics (me) shut up.

 

Yes, not to mention Rubio who just had a career night against him. But I'm a bit more patient regarding his defense. At least he seems alert and shows effort.

 

Considering the way Towns is playing - Russell won't hear the end of it...

 

Russell was fine last night and is pretty far down my list of worries with this team. Just leave him out there. No reason for him to be playing less than 30 minutes.

 

Towns went number one for a reason. He was the best guy out there.

 

Absolutely. There's a chance he'll be the best player in the draft in 10 years down the line. Supremely talented. Russell needs time too grow and develop. Last night would have been a perfect time for him to play the whole 4th quarter; instead, we had Huertas in the game. Oh, well. He played the last 3:52; he had some nice passes that his teammates didn't finish, etc. He just needs more time out there. Byron will become more flexible in his playbook with Russ once the losses start piling up and the season is done. There will be a point, probably by at the end or after January where the young guys will get a bunch of developmental time.

 

Yeah... Towns is really active defensively and he can score from anywhere on the court. What a beast. Him and Anthony Davis are the next generation of bigs that are super athletic and versatile.

 

Completely agree. And yeah, the game was a blowout. All the rookies should have gotten some playing time.

 

There will be more blowouts. Don't worry. Unfortunately, I'd like the process to be accelerated with the growth of these young guys, so I wish Russell would have played more and gained more experience. However, we have 80 more games, and we're not a very good team. They'll be opportunities to see what we have.

 

Hopefully the losing doesn't wear on him. I know that's an issue with a lot of top pick rookies. They've been on winning teams their whole life, so it's a bit of a shock when they're giving away games and getting blown out of the gym. Not having a role, yet, will be tough enough of a adjustment.

 

Thanks, quite revealing. I like these quote:

Russell --- Specifically, we’ve got a lot of players trying to do the same thing. You’ve just got to figure out your niche to stay on the floor

Kobe --- ....those years were invaluable for me because nothing was handed to me. I had to work for it. If I was getting 15 minutes a night, I had to work for those 15 minutes and I couldn’t go in there and play like crap or I’d sit on the bench and not play the next five games. I really, really had to work for it. I’m very thankful for that

Hopefully Russell will grind his way through and find his niche. But if he doesn't perform bench him. I don't like the idea of handing him a starting spot when he's not being assertive. We have good players on the bench, like Lou or Huertas, that can take his place. Kobe has stated what I've been trying to say --- nothing should come easy.