Lakers: Injuries Derailing D’Angelo Russell’s Sophomore Season

D’Angelo Russell suffered multiple injuries in Friday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers, adding to an already injury-riddled second year for the Lakers young point guard.

D’Angeo Russell has had to miss extended time for the Lakers now twice this season. We all know how much his game needs to develop in order to become great and this recent injury has fans questioning if he can stay on the court long enough to reach his potential.

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Because of his injuries, it’s been tough for Russell to build any momentum. He’s had stretches where he’s scorching hot, followed by nights where he’s ice cold. There was a point in the year where James Worthy and other Spectrum SportsNet analysts were saying that Russell had finally figured it out. He was putting in the extra work, watching film and putting in the extra work, watching film, and even hitting the gym. Of course, after

Of course, he eventually cooled off and then this injury happened which has us wondering if this guy is the player the organization should want as their point guard of the future.

The short answer is yes, yes they should.  Without Russell on the floor, the team looks very confused on offense. Calderon has tried to run the team at, but it doesn’t look like anyone listens to him out there and it usually ends as an isolation play for Julius Randle. The team needs D’Lo to be the coach on the floor and without him, the offense suffers big time. That was on display against Dallas, the team’s first game since Russell’s injury, when the team lost 73-122.

If that isn’t enough proof for you, the Lakers are better in almost every statistical category with Russell on the floor. This includes effective field goal percentage, possessions assisted on, turnover percentage, and probably the most telling, offensive rating. D’Angelo affects all of these things because he handles the ball when he’s on the floor and creates offense for his teammates with passing skill.

Nagging injuries might seem scary but they shouldn’t have fans too worried. It happened before to a guy by the name of Stephen Curry. Before he was winning back to back MVP’s, he had nagging ankle injuries that had Golden State wondering about his health. Three years later and they have one of the top five players in the league signed to a laughable four year 44 million dollar contract. I could see that same scenario in Los Angeles with Russell.

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But what do you guys think? Will Russell’s injuries be a problem for him going forward? Let us know in the comments below!