D’Angelo Russell’s sophomore season showed he can be the Los Angeles Lakers’ go-to guy sooner than later.
D’Angelo Russell has had himself a bit of an up and down season. After starting the season on a high note, with the team going 10-10 to start the year, the Lakers completely cratered during the ensuing months. It didn’t help that the second-year guard was suffering through a few knee injuries that sidelined him for a large chunk of the season.
It didn’t help that Russell was playing inconsistent minutes throughout the year, as Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson were eating up the majority of the crunch time minutes in most games. That changed once the All-Star break came, as Williams was traded and the Lakers embraced the youth movement. We’ve gone over how effective Russell can be when given the chance. This stretch also gave D’Angelo a chance to show off the ice he has coursing through his veins.
The Lakers admittedly did not win a lot during this stretch. This team was obviously not very good yet. But, during the few games they did win, D’Angelo Russell was generally the engine that ran the team down the stretch.
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Keep in mind that this is an astonishingly small sample size, so expectations must be tempered. However, during some of these wins, D’Angelo Russell was nothing short of clutch.
Starting with Lakers win over the Suns in early March, a game in which Russell had 28 points. Russell put on an offensive display and made sure the Suns couldn’t complete their comeback attempt with a dagger of a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, closing the door on Devin Booker and co.
Moving forward, the Lakers young point guard also had a very nice stretch to close out the Lakers victory over the Sacramento Kings in early April. With the Lakers trailing by three in the last 3:30 of the game, D’Angelo Russell made some plays happen. Russell recorded 7 points and 1 assist to close the game. Russell hit a three to put the Lakers up late and sank a floater in the lane to give the Lakers the lead for good.
And that brings us to Russell’s last game of the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In a game that saw Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns combine for 81 points, it was D’Angelo Russell that was all the talk after it was all said and done. Russell shook off a rough shooting night (6-19 from the floor) and the death of his grandmother to sink the buzzer beating 3-pointer in a thrilling moment for the young point guard.
He’s obviously far from a finished product, but the flashes of potential that he is showing are really promising. He doesn’t seem to get rattled in late game situations, but he still lacks consistency. That should come as his repertoire grows and he improves his conditioning. As he is right now, he’s showing flashes of becoming the go-to player for the Lakers down the stretch.
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Either way, it’s promising that a player in his age-20 season has shown the poise that he has. With a bit more seasoning, D’Angelo Russell could really blossom into a closer.