D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Opted In!

Spectacular game from Dlo last night! That's the kind of game I love to see from him - smart play, scoring when he has the chance, getting others involved, low turnovers and clutch play down the stretch. I thought he was a real leader last night. When he's on he's really on. More of this please.

 

Bust SG.

 

Maddening how Russell can't string performances like last night... Injuries though have hampered him this season.

 

Loved him looking to set guys up in the offense. This was one of the best games I've seen him play.

 

Growing pains and injuries, for sure. Good news is that he has the talent. He just needs to keep working on consistency - same for all our young guys. We have serious talent in our young players at positions 1-5 (Russell, Clarkson, Ingram, Randle, Zubac) and even a couple backups (Nance, Black). That's encouraging.

 

I was thinking that exact same thing last night realdeal. It was probably my favorite game from Russell so far.

 

I don't think Zubac being his pick and roll partner was a coincidence either. Zubac sets great screens and has great hands on the roll. He has also good instincts as a passer in the pick and roll too. I only saw him blatantly miss one read and he made the shot anyway.

 

Russell, ?, Ingram, Randle and Zubac as your core isn't bad for beginners. Nance, Black and Clarkson off the pine. The "?" is whoever we draft as either a point or another versatile wing. Moz has played to what is expected of him and Zu still needs to develop through manageable matchups as well as minutes. Deng though has been a disappointment.

As far as Zu is concerned from what I saw in the Summer League, he can play face-up or back to the basket. Those screens he sets are fundamentally sound. Moz must be showing good examples or teaching him well in practice.

 

My grandest dreams had us bringing in Hayward this summer, but that dream is dead now. If we draft a kid who could play PG/SG, it'd be Fultz. You slide D'Angelo down and play both of them as interchangeable guards. Of course if we end up with the 2nd or 3rd pick you're looking more at a wing guy or Lonzo Ball. Malik Monk is sort of a sneaky look as a fit for our team. He's a bouncy kid that can really score. His offense has a tiny bit of Jamal Crawford to it without the ball handling. Not much of a defender, but he has the ability to get there with the right coaching.

Still I love looking at:

Russell/
______/Clarkson
Ingram/
Randle/Nance Jr.
Zubac/Black

That's a hell of a start. You throw Stanley Johnson in after Ingram and you maybe get lucky and draft another guard this summer. We've done mighty well for ourselves.