D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

I irrationally spent money for last night's game. I looked at the calendar, saw that we had 4 nights off and knew Kobe would play. Well, I was wrong. And I was angry. I considered selling the tickets for a loss. But I decided to go because I knew Randle and Russell would be starting.

And then that happened. Golly.

 

We could possibly replicate a Golden State situation picking up Ingram.

Russel-Clarkson-Ingram would be a potent perimeter oriented group.

Add Whiteside next to Randle. Woo boy.

 

So a few Russell observations from the game tonight...

-The only other game that I've been to this year is a game in November against Detroit. The thing that immediately caught my eye then was just how physically different he looked from everyone else. Really a boy amongst men. That was a lot less pronounced tonight than it was in November. I don't know if it's just natural maturation, work in the weight room, or a combination of the two, but he physically looks different than he did 4 months ago.

-He and Clarkson seem to have a real, genuine friendship. It was noticeable in Summer League, noticeable in November, and noticeable tonight. All of the young guys seem to get along, but those two are the tightest.

-Speaking of which, I noticed a lot of bickering between he & Randle in November, and the vibe between the two was different tonight. Much more on the same page.

-He's a little ADHD. I can see why he drives a guy like Byron crazy. In shootaround, he would go from working on specific move (focused a lot on floaters, and different shots in the 5-15 foot range), and then would go (bleep) with Anthony Brown, or joke with an usher. Then he'd very purposefully work on something else, and then would start rapping to whatever song was on the loudspeaker and would shoot a 20 foot hook shot. I don't have a problem with it, but Byron's just not that type of dude.

-He already knows Motion Weak better than anyone else on the team, although I was pleasantly surprised by how much Clarkson was directing traffic too. He was annoyed with Hibbert & Brown a few times, directing them to their cuts.

-Like I said before, his game is super effortless. Just great at cutting and relocating. He's just finally in an offense that gives him the opportunity to do that a lot. But this kid's on some jedi (bleep). He only missed a couple of shots tonight that were decent looks. He had a couple of heat checks that he shouldn't have shot, but you just felt like it was going in every time he had an open look.

-To that end, his jumper is very "quiet." I don't know if that's the right word for it, but it arrives at the rim at a slow velocity, and barely moves the net a lot of the time. He looks especially comfortable with the NBA 3 now too.

-Everyone knows what a big Russell fan I've been since back when he was in the 8-10 range in mock drafts. What an awesome game to go to. It was like watching my adopted basketball son's coming out party.

Recap from GoldenThroat on LG who went to the game last night.

 

D'Aggerlo Russell aka Steph Curry South

 

A Curry-esque motion play I really liked from russell last night was when he drove the baseline, whipped a perfect pass out to the perimeter, floated to the corner and got it right back for a nailed 3. That was GSW 101 right there.

 

I mean, just getting another shooter helps us tremendously. Golden State doesn't run much of the traditional pick and roll sets, but they move so well off the ball, set great off ball screens, and have such excellent spacing because you really can't leave anyone open on the perimeter. That's what I want here.

Surround this team with shooters and the offense opens up.

 

Mychal Thompson: "Look at your record, what are you doing showing off for. I'd be embarrassed." ESPNLA710

Seriously? All these showtime guys are getting on my nerves.