Lakers: D’Angelo Russell Will Start, Finish Games After All-Star Break

Byron Scott said on Saturday that D’Angelo Russell will be starting for the Lakers again after the All-Star break

Even with the Los Angeles Lakers playing quite well as of late, winning two out of their last three and the loss coming in a spirited effort on Saturday night against one of the NBA’s best in the San Antonio Spurs, there are still glaring problems with this team. One of the most glaring would be rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell’s role in the rotation.

Russell’s highly publicized removal from the starting lineup has long been a sore subject for Lakers fan, but has only become more frustrating with Julius Randle resuming his role as a starter as of late. What’s worse is that Byron Scott has also consistently pulled Russell late in fourth quarters regardless of his performance.

Apparently that will finally change in the coming weeks. After the close loss to San Antonio on Saturday night, Scott told reporters that the 19-year-old rookie will get the opportunity to start and finish games once the Lakers are on the other side of the All-Star break, per Mike Trudell of TWC Sportsnet:

This is certainly a positive sign for the Lakers and yet another indication that Scott has indeed been handed down an ultimatum from the front office regarding his job security beyond this season. Allowing Russell those opportunities is what’s best for the young point guard’s development to help further establish the Lakers’ future.

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As is often the case with Scott, even his comments that state something positive being on the horizon contain something that gives fans pause. In this case, it’s the fact that Byron thought about allowing Russell to finish the game against the Spurs, but ultimately decided not to—despite the fact that Russell was playing quite well in the fourth quarter—assumedly so that Scott could stick to his plan.

So while Scott is ultimately planning on finally making the right decision on Russell in regards to his role in the rotation, perhaps the most glaring problem with the Lakers head coach still comes to light. His rigidity in terms of his adjustments and rotations has been staggering and harmful to this Lakers team all season and this is yet another instance of that.

Next: Comparing Russell's Rookie Year to Other Guards

However, there’s no need to get too worked up over that; Russell is going to be getting the chances to succeed that he’s deserved and needed all season in the Lakers rotation soon enough. Of course, that’s assuming that he’s willing to “man up.”