The ongoing theme throughout the NBA In-Season Tournament has been the level of intensity these games are bringing out of the players. Many have described them as playoff-like and thankfully for the Los Angeles Lakers, they have plenty of postseason experience with this group as they went on a run to the Western Conference Finals last season after trading for D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt.
That playoff atmosphere was on full display as the Lakers hosted the Phoenix Suns in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals and came away with a 106-103 victory. And Russell, like many other players around the NBA, felt that playoff atmosphere and intensity on Tuesday night.
“Yeah, for sure. I think you have a playoff environment out there,” Russell said after the Lakers win. “Everybody’s coming ready to play. You see guys diving on the floor, a lot of bodies on the floor throughout the night. It just shows you how hard guys are playing for both teams. So, heck yeah. Playoff intensity right there.”
For a younger team like the Indiana Pacers who have little postseason experience, this tournament serves as a test to see if they can handle that stage. But for the Lakers, they are able to tap in to what they already know, and Russell believes that is an advantage.
“For sure. I mean, I think like I said, this is a playoff intensity. That’s what the In-Season is bringing,” the Lakers point guard added. “And the teams that are in it are, may be unfamiliar, they may or may have not been in the playoffs or players on that team may not have seen the playoffs, and it just gives that feel for us.
“Like you said, guys on our team have a little more experience and we just came from where we came from last year allows us to get into that mode sooner throughout the season before June gets here. I think that’s just the positive to have as a group and it’s a big deal for the guys on our team that are trying to establish themselves as well to to be able to be along and experience this and get paid, too. Big deal.”
Russell, Vanderbilt, and Hachimura along with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves all went down that postseason road together last season. Even Max Christie was on the roster and went through the grind as well. They simply know what to expect from each other and how to bring the best out of themselves in these high stakes contests and it is helping them come out on top.
D’Angelo Russell believes we haven’t seen Lakers’ full potential yet
It also helps that the Lakers are close to being completely healthy now as Vanderbilt has finally returned from his heel injury. The Lakers are close to seeing what they can really be, but D’Angelo Russell feels they haven’t reached that full potential just yet.
“I don’t even think we’ve seen it yet,” Russell said. “We got a lot of guys on minute restrictions. So that’s a major, major factor in guys that are finishing games, finishing quarters, finishing the half. Got to take that into consideration trying to get healthy. So I think we’re still waiting.
“We’re still building we still need some games under our belts and some experience. It’s gonna be a big deal for us to try to get one knowing that guys are banged up, and it may force guys to step up and things like that. Stay tuned.”
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