D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

I think current LA fans are happy with whatever players they regard as having come from the trade

Ball has a lot of promise.

 

BrooklynsBeat @brooklynsbeat 16m
Mike Prada is super super smart. This is a ringing endorsement of Russell. I've said in past smart folks have been critical. This is smart folks being positive. #Nets
Mike Prada @MikePradaSBN
D’Angelo Russell’s reached that point where he doesn’t care about his primary defender and automatically takes his cues from the help defense. For a young PG that’s a big checkpoint to pass
Beat Writer / Columnist

 

Russell is stringing together a bunch of good games which is probably a first in his career...hats off to him and I hope he keeps it up, not just for the contract year but also after that.

A few good months could make him a lot of extra millions on his next deal.

 

No doubt, Kb. Nets twitter peeps are reallly clamoring for re-signing him, in the neighborhood of $20m a season. Almost no one was saying that before the season.

Nets have five games left this month, and Russ has a shot at establishing new career hights for a single month:
He has 240 points, and his career high was 292 in November. Seems very likely.
He has 75 dimes, and his career high was 95 in December. Seems pretty likely.
He has 37 rebounds, and his career high was 69 a long time ago. Doubtful.

 

I've been looking at his free throw rate recently. It's pretty wild.

 

D'Angelo Russell - G - Nets
Kenny Atkinson believes that D'Angelo Russell has been playing at an All-Star level this season.

"Unbelievable," Atkinson said of Russell's play. "He has great confidence right now, on both ends of the floor. I think the other guys are feeding off that confidence. And it’s not just the shots he’s making, but how he’s running the offense and his command of the offense and guys following his command and his leadership. That’s a big part of our success." The Nets are poised to make the playoffs this year for the first time since 2015, and the former No. 2 overall pick has played a key role in their recent success.

 

25-10-7 and 2 steals +17 (game best) and a W. 3 TO, btw.

 

Update:

Nets have FOUR games left this month, and Russ has a shot at establishing new career hights for a single month:
He has 265 points, and his career high was 292 in November. Seems very likely.
He has 85 dimes, and his career high was 95 in December. Seems very likely.
He has 44 rebounds, and his career high was 69 a long time ago. Doubtful.

 

Fantasy take, from Rotoworld:

2018-19 was viewed by many in Brooklyn as a make-or-break year for point guard D'Angelo Russell. He was coming off a relatively disappointing debut season with the Nets, as his scoring average decreased and he posted a career-high in turnovers despite playing a career-low 25.7 minutes per game. As a pending restricted free agent, there was some debate as to whether or not Brooklyn would be wise to commit major money to an extremely talented but inconsistent player.


Well, based on his play of late, Russell’s asking price is rising by the day. Dating back to January 7th, the Nets are 17-5, which is the second-best record in the NBA over that stretch. Over that 21-game stretch, Russell is averaging 20.7 points and 7.3 assists.



Since the calendar flipped to January, Russell has taken his production to an even higher level. Brooklyn is 8-2 in 2019. In those eight wins, D-Russ is averaging 26.4 points, 7.6 assists (vs. just 2.1 turnovers), 4.5 made 3-pointers and 1.1 steals, while shooting 50.3 percent from the floor, 45.6 percent from downtown, and 91.7 percent from the free-throw line. He’s scored a combined 71 points and knocked down 15 treys in the Nets past two games. Per Basketball-Reference, Russell is the first player in Nets franchise history with at least 30 points and seven 3-pointers in consecutive games.


The most impressive aspect of Russell resurgence has been his combination of trifectas, dimes and limited turnovers. In 2019, D’Angelo is the only player in the NBA averaging more than seven assists and three 3-pointers, but fewer than three turnovers per game.


Sum it all up, and Russell is posting top-50 value in nine-category formats this season. Over the last month, he’s soared all the way to 17th overall.