D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

Better game from DLo.

The fact of the matter is, we're not going to get the full D'Angelo show until he is the focal point of the offense. He NEEDS the ball in his hands to be effective. Is he NBA ready? Not quite. He's a frail 19 year old kid. He's still got growing to do too.

But, I like the things that I'm seeing with his passing. It's all there. Once he gets accustomed to the NBA flow and develops better chemistry with the team, it will come. Byron's coaching isn't helping him at all. I don't think he's a particularly good catch and shooter, rather, he's much better shooting off the dribble.

Defensively, he's got the length to defend a lot of players well. The issue is when he gets screened off, there's no help. And then people start blaming him not being able to keep up. ANYONE who gets picked off is going to have issues and it's up to the team to rotate and make adjustments. Again, this falls on Byron.

 

yeah I thought he defended well. Just don't have NBA strength yet...

 

More dirt on the grave from Baxter Holmes...

 

I agree with realdeal Russell's defense has been far from bad. Mudiay only shot 3/15 and really the games people talk about like Sacremento and Minnesota he wasn't on Rubio or Rondo all that much. Once he gets stronger, that combined with his great size and length will make up for not having great lateral quickness.

Offensively he needs to continue to work on his three point shot which is just erratic right now and he will. On those screen and rolls he'll need to attack more, but I think that'll come with experience, confidence, and increasing strength so he can finish with contact in the paint area. I think as his shots improves he'll find more ways to score. Shot faking, turning the corner on those screens and rolls, when bigs switch on you stepping back and hitting the jumper if they back off you, being able to post up because he'll be bigger than most point guards, his mid range game, and also as guys like Ginobli and Harden have done so effectively when teams try to be aggressive defensively using it against them and getting to the hole.

I think this kid is gonna be a superstar. I think he's the best player in this year's draft. If I'm wrong I'll openly acknowledge it, but I think we've already seen flashes of what he can do in this league. He's got a long way to go obviously, but I think when we eventually get a competent coach with a real system in place that will actually utilize him that will help him expenentially, the more seasoned he gets, adjusting to the NBA game, working on every aspect of his game and improving on the things he's already good at it.

 

He looked quicker to me too this game. Thought he played pretty solid D staying in front of Mudiay. I like that he plays in control. I never feel like he'said on the verge of making a stupid pass. Even when he turns the ball over, rarely is it because he was out of control and threw the ball away. IMO his ceiling is probably significantly higher than Mudiay's.

 

uh, the lakers drafted him. had the lakers drafted okafor, they'd be preaching patience with russell and caution in okafor's start (but the rebounding and fg%!).

i think he's going to be an allstar caliber player at some point (maybe by year 4?), but towns is going to be the top player from this draft. he's already really good and has a lot of room for growth, too.

 

Yeah I think Towns is probably the best prospect in this draft class but we couldn't get him anyway.

 

I think Russell's ceiling is higher both than he and Okafor. That's why I was fine with the Lakers taking him. I knew they were likely gonna be better out of the gate because they were more NBA ready, but over the long haul with Russell's defensive potential, his incredible court vision and playmaking which has already been showcased, his scoring ability, I just think he's gonna be a great all around point guard. Really I think you couldn't have gone wrong with any of these three. I think they could all be big time stars. I think at the end of the day Philadelphia, Minnesota, and the Lakers will all be happy with their picks.

 

Well players like Towns and Anthony Davis are rare specimens. They impact the game in ways smaller guys simply can't. I just feel a do-everything type of big man is more versatile because they could play in any system and still be effective. So it's really not fair to compare, and we probably shouldn't.

Having said that, I feel Russell's basketball IQ and vision are special too. Everything about this kid screams "floor general" With the right system and surrounding cast he could be just as valuable as Towns.

 

it took curry a long time to be a star, but his rookie numbers were actually pretty good (better than i expect russell's to be at the end). people forget curry was 18/6/5 on 46/43/88. it's not like he was overwhelmed by the nba game from the jump--his first eight to ten games were a feeling out period, but he was on track after that.

a comparison to make us feel more optimistic would be steve nash, who took a few years to figure out how he fit in the league. in his first year as a starter, he was an 8/6 guy with pretty poor percentages. that's what we'll be looking at with dlo this year. doesn't mean it's over.

i had russell third on my personal draft board after okafor. the reasons are playing out exactly (not strong or quick enough to do what he did in college in the nba) right now. but there's a long way to go before we know what he will be. i remain pretty optimistic, and my homerism has allowed me to project him ahead of okafor down the road.