Los Angeles Lakers: How good of a three-point shooter is D’Angelo Russell?
Verdict
In sum, as the data illustrates, D’Angelo Russell is an average NBA three-point shooter, converting a league average 35% of attempts from range. He struggles to shoot a high percentage from three when he finds himself further away from the basket such as beyond the break where he converts on 34% of his attempts and falls into the low 30% range the further he goes out.
He also has difficulty knocking down shots that are either off the dribble or closely contested as evidenced by the fact that he knocks down under 30% of these types of shots. These issues as discussed are largely due to his poor lift on his jump-shot, and improper balance and alignment to the rim created by the widening of his foot position and bending his knees inwards before the shot. It is creating more tension in his lower back, hindering his ability to smoothly rotate his shoulders towards the net.
However, where Russell excels is when he is in closer proximity to the basket, such as in the corner, where he shoots around 45.5% as he requires less lift in his shot. Additionally, Russell thrives in catch-and-shoot situations and other situations that allow for a maximum of 2 dribbles before shooting. In these situations, he shoots approximately 40% from beyond the arc, helped in part by the fact that he has the time to get into a narrow shooting stance which naturally aligns his shoulders to the net without putting extra tension on his back.
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Therefore, considering Russell’s strengths and weaknesses from beyond the arc, unless he is able to refine his shooting mechanics to account for his current shooting deficiencies, he may benefit greatly by adopting a Klay Thompson-esque style of play. That style of play is characterized by using screens and teammate penetration to create space for Russell to shoot while using minimal dribbles and limiting the number of times he must create a shot for himself from three.
*statistical data courtesy of basketball-reference.com, espn.com, and nba.com*