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D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

Discussion in 'Lakers Discussion' started by The Original 81, Jun 25, 2015.

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abeer3 - Lakers Legend -

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russell (and lou with the assist) had a pretty awesome pin block on mkg last night in one of the one highlights of the game. no athleticism THAT.

ok, back to criticism: the fake behind the back only makes sense when it has a realistic target.

abeer3, Feb 1, 2016

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This is the most frustrating season to watch as a fan, period! There's no way we should only be able to win 9 games at this point in the season with the talent on this team. Doesn't mean we should be in the playoffs, but certainly not the 2nd worst team in the NBA.

GoldenKnight, Feb 1, 2016

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ElginTheGreat, Feb 1, 2016

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Remember the goal is a top 3 pick and the losses are easier to stomach. Byron is bad, but he's not this bad. The fix is in.

John3:16, Feb 1, 2016

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Q&A with DR

Me: It's hard enough being a rookie in this league, and then you throw in Kobe's farewell tour and everything else, like trying to learn how to be an NBA point guard. How do you find your equilibrium?

D'Angelo Russell: First of all, everything's new. I didn't even know there was such thing as a farewell tour and all that, obviously. So getting the opportunity to witness it -- I didn't know it would be Kobe's last year -- a lot of attention and praise is going his way. And he's earned it. So we've just got to do a good job of supporting him and really trying to stay focused and prepared for the next game, win or lose. I just try to stay level-headed, don't try to get too high or too low on individual or team performance.

Me: Do you look at this season as anything that happens this year is a learning experience and I have to just roll with it, or I still have to try and develop myself as a player in this league?

DR: You've got to earn your stripes. Nobody's going to give 'em to you. Nobody's going to feel bad for you if you don't. You get replaced in this league. So, try to find a way to stick. That's the biggest step for me coming in, being a rookie. Everybody looks at you as fresh meat. Like, we can go at this kid. Or, we got a night off when we've got the Lakers or whatnot. I really don't get too involved in it, 'cause I know it's not something I can control, as far as what other people think of me. I can just go out there and compete, and when the end of the night comes, they can look at it as we can respect him, or they don't. And it's as simple as that.

Me: We did your game in Sacramento when you scored 27 points, and you and Julius Randle and Jordan brought the team back, and afterward, you said 'you all ain't seen nothing yet.' What was flowing that night?

DR: Really, it was my emotions. When you feel like you belong, your confidence starts to go up. I just feel like I know what I'm capable of as a person and as a player, and I know the work that I put in. Nobody's perfect; nobody's going to come out and perform their best every night. But looking for that consistency. I felt like I found some consistency that night. But I'm still going to have multiple turnovers. I'm still going to have multiple rookie lapses. I mean, it happens. I know what I've done to get here, and I know the work I've put in to get here, so when I have nights like that, I'm just confident in myself. I'm just like, I know I can do this.

Me: How are you and Jordan adjusting to one another?

DR: It's great. Looking at it from a standpoint of watching him, how he starts the game, and how teams are guarding him, it makes it easier for me, so when I come into the game, with the second unit, I know how they're guarding, how they're using their personnel on the floor and stuff like that. It kind of makes it easier for me. We talk a lot off the floor, and then when we're on the floor together, we kind of use other ways to connect, as far as backdoors, transitions, trying to get easy plays, stuff like that.

Me: What's the best lesson you've gotten on the floor so far -- just playing against someone who did something that made you go 'wow, that was good'?

DR: I would say there's always little defensive tactics that separate other guys from other guys. You can say athleticism, speed, thinking, experience, you can say all of that stuff, which will come. But as far as the tactics, I don't know. Like forcing a guy to make it look like he fouled you, or you fouled him. You can take that with you. I'm not going to use any specific names because I don't want everybody to know that, but it's something you can steal from a veteran guy.

Me: There are high expectations for you and Jordan and Julius going forward. What are one or two things you want to take from this year to build on?

DR: I would say keeping that fire. Going into this year, everybody always talked about us three, this and that, and we haven't, I wouldn't say necessary, lived up to the hype. But it started in Summer League, when we had Summer League together, and everybody was like, 'oh, my God, these three guys,' or whatever. It's all hype. Just keeping that fire, so when the hype goes down, next year is a new year, and they'll be talking about somebody else, and then, that's we can come out of nowhere if we keep that edge we had going into this season and use it to our advantage.

Me: How do you deal with the record? I bet you hadn't lost 20 games combined before.

DR: Nobody wants to get used to losing, so every night, you feel like you have an opportunity to win. So every night you've got to put yourself in a position where you're giving yourself a chance to win. Every night it's a different game plan, different player, different coach, different refs. Everything's different. So you can't really prepare for it like people from the outside think you can. You've just got to keep that positive mentality. Like I said, it's new to me. Playing againstDerrick Rose for the first time this year, he might do some things that I'm not expecting. But when I play against him another time, it might be something that I expect. So I use that as an advantage.

Me: B-Scott sat you the last couple of minutes of the game the other night. How did you deal with that?

DR: It was a tough game for me personally. But as a team, we found a way to get it down to the wire. I mean, Dirk was Dirk that night, and he made tough shots. But I didn't really look at it as everybody else looked at it, as far as 'why am I not on the floor,' this and that. I respect the Coach's call any day of the week. But I wasn't sure why, so I just didn't question it, necessarily.

Me: Just generally with Byron -- not necessarily that one decision -- he's old school. I get it, 'cause I'm old myself. But are the lines of communication open between the two of you?

DR: At this day and age, you kind of have a feel for what you did wrong. It might sound weird, but you don't know what to ask. So like, I turned the ball over. I know I turned the ball over and I'm coming out of the game. I'm not sure if that's why you're pulling me out, but I'm not sure what to ask. 'Cause I know I turned it over. There's nothing that you can possibly say that's going to bring that turnover back, or anything that I can possibly do. But it's like, I don't know what to ask. It's like, he wouldn't, I don't know, tell me if I don't ask. So that's where it's kind of a blur.

Me: Is that just part of being a young guy -- not knowing? You don't know what you don't know?

DR: That's the best way to put it. I don't know what I don't know.

Me: How has Kobe been this year -- as a guy, as a teammate?

DR: First of all, you're going to always be starstruck, with a guy like that. Coming into this league, you can play with anybody, but when it's one of those older vets (that's) still around, I don't know, you just want to cope with them and get to know them and just be able to play on the court with them. That was great. But he's always coaching on the floor, if he's not playing. On the plane, you can talk to him about anything, and he'll try to give you the best perspective about it -- positive or negative. It's almost like he knows right. He's one of those guys that, when you come to a situation and you're not sure, you can say 'what would Kobe do?' That's a great guy to have around.

Me: Do you now have a sense about the standards of this franchise, and the history, and the expectations on a player who plays here, through him?

DR: I mean, growing up, my dad was a C Bags fan, and my brothers were Lakers fans. So the C Bags would always win, but the Lakers would always win. And you clearly, you couldn't really say who was the better team at that time, because they would win and then they would win. But you know that they were one of the top two teams that was always in the contender of winning. And that's what this whole franchise is all about -- no matter if it's a good win or an ugly win, everything's good.

Me: What do you hope to accomplish with the second half of the season?

DR: I truly just want to finish out the games strong, finish out this year strong, and start to go in the right path of what kind of player I'm going to be. I know that's going to take multiple years, but just going down that right path. First impressions are almost everything, but in this league it's almost backwards. You can make a first impression and in four years be a player that nobody expected you to be. So I just kind of want to know, have that feeling. I don't want to go into the summer and not have a clue what type of player, who I am on the court. It really will influence what I have to work on.

Me: What do you think those things are now?

DR: Right now? Being patient, as far as on the floor. I try to make the home run play all the time, and in college, it got me in trouble, too. In college the gap (for making) errors, it was bigger. Here, it's way thinner. You try to thread the needle on passes, or gamble for a steal, and the team is almost automatically going to capitalize on it. So just being patient, not turning the ball over.

Me: What type of player do you think you'll be when everything does become second nature to you?

DR: I have no idea, but I've seen so many guys in this league go from, coming straight out of college, and then developing and getting some years under their belt, and you'd never expect it. John Wall, for example. He came into this league and he was lightning quick, and it got him into trouble a lot. But he developed an urgency of when to be quick and fast, and when not to be. So I just feel like it takes time. And I have no clue. I don't want to put a title on who I'm going to be.
http://www.nba.com/2016/news/featur...-andre-drummond-qa-dangelo-russell/index.html
Click to expand...

JSM, Feb 1, 2016

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therealdeal Moderator Staff Member

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Wow he seems genuinely lost in the NBA right now. Such a young kid and there's just a million things going on and he's got no leadership to help him get through it.

Hopefully he and Julius and Jordan get in the gym this summer, become the three amigos, and come out next season guns blazing. I like the open and honest responses, but I hope some of those answers become clearer to him soon. He seems genuinely confused about a lot of things, but too lost to even ask a question. Part of that is his personality, but part of that is just really bad leadership from Byron Scott. Really, really bad. A kid should never be worried about asking a question. Any question. And if the kid isn't asking questions, then YOU should ask THEM questions to see where their head is at.

therealdeal, Feb 1, 2016

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ElginTheGreat said: ↑

Click to expand...

This is freaking disgusting. Wrong on every kind of level. Boron and the FO are making me so angry and I've been PO'd about Russell and Randle's demotions since they happened.

lakerjones, Feb 1, 2016

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Let me translate that entire interview: "My success as a player is heavily influenced by confidence from my coach and in myself." Byron's old school, tough love crap that was supposed to teach me humility and accountability and to motivate me has completely backfired, leaving me confused, frustrated, and down on myself."

Punk-101, Feb 1, 2016

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My translation, "Jah, you lucky sob"...
b0ron is killing this kid.

Kenzo, Feb 1, 2016

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I bet Byron would have had KAT looking like Sacre had we landed the #1 pick.

lakersyunowin, Feb 1, 2016

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OmarE, Feb 1, 2016

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Boron logic is like repeated blows to the genitals. It's excruciating to listen to.

Juronimo, Feb 1, 2016

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lakersyunowin said: ↑

I bet Byron would have had KAT looking like Sacre had we landed the #1 pick.
Click to expand...

:Headbang:

LTLakerFan, Feb 1, 2016

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Juronimo said: ↑

Boron logic is like repeated blows to the genitals. It's excruciating to listen to.
Click to expand...

:Headbang:

LTLakerFan, Feb 1, 2016

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CaCHooKa Man, Feb 4, 2016

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ElginTheGreat, Feb 5, 2016

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ElginTheGreat, Feb 5, 2016

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ElginTheGreat, Feb 5, 2016

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Watching him in the post was really interesting. We take for granted just a bit, but he's pretty enormous for a PG.

I'm not sure about bread and butter, but it's definitely a weapon that'd be great to have in his arsenal.

therealdeal, Feb 5, 2016

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Seth Partnow ‏@SethPartnow 4 févr.

D'Angelo Russell?

Rob Mahoney @RobMahoney
What other NBA player would benefit most from a Steph-like green light to fire, pass, and dribble as freely as he does?
Click to expand...

wcsoldier81, Feb 5, 2016

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