The Los Angeles Lakers first preseason game is now in the books and although the Lakers failed to get the win over the Utah Jazz, there were some positive takeaways.
One of those was the play of second overall pick D’Angelo Russell.
Russell had a couple of beautiful passes in the game and afterwards, Kobe complimented his vision according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes:
Kobe Bryant on @Dloading’s passing: "His vision is astronomical."
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) October 5, 2015
Russell impressed in his first game action for the Lakers, totaling five points and three assists while only turning the ball over twice. The bone bruise in his foot did not seem to bother him in any way during the game.
The Lakers first basket came on a perfect pass from Russell to Julius Randle on the pick-and-roll. Arguably Russell’s most impressive play came on a no-look pass to Randle in transition. Though Randle was unable to finish the dunk due to a hard foul by Trevor Booker, it showed off what Russell is capable of in transition with his passing ability.
For his part, Kobe looked solid in 12 minutes. He only made one of his five field goal attempts, but was very active on both ends of the floor and looked like his normal self. It has only been one game, but Russell is already impressing many in the Lakers organization.
