Los Angeles Lakers: How good of a three-point shooter is D’Angelo Russell?

Catch and shoot vs Off the dribble

In catch and shoot situations, D’Angelo Russell converts an acceptable 37% of his three-point attempts, implying that he is more comfortable in situations whereby the ball is passed to him by a teammate.

This may be because it eliminates any extra movements in his upper or lower body that may change his form and balance due to the fact that he is often in a stationary position allowing him the time to get in his proper shooting stance with a narrow foot position and left shoulder facing the rim as he awaits the ball.

More evidence to support the idea that Russell is better in catch and shoot situations is that he knocks down 38% of threes in which he holds the ball for under two seconds, which is often the amount of time a player takes when shooting after a pass from a teammate as little to no dribbles are necessary before the shot.

In contrast, when Russell takes a shot off the dribble his shooting efficiency plummets as the number of dribbles increases. When Russell takes 0-2 dribbles before taking a three he connects on 40% of his attempts. This is likely because he uses these dribbles to get himself into his shooting rhythm and aligned with the basket.

However, when the 21-year-old dribbles three or more times, he converts on a dreadful 28% of shots from beyond the arc. A plausible explanation for this is that when Russell dribbles more than three times, these dribbles are less likely used to get into a rhythm, but rather as a means to create space between him and his defender.

This once again creates more opportunity for error as he is more likely to adopt an unnaturally wide shooting stance, resulting in less balance and improper alignment of his left shoulder towards the basket which are crucial elements of a successful jump-shot.