The Los Angeles Lakers’ backcourt pairing of D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves has been one that has brought plenty of success to the team over the last couple of years. But so far this season, Russell has struggled to get going coming off his best season as a Laker last year.
After breaking the Lakers’ single-season record for 3-pointers last year, Russell’s shot is not falling right now. He is averaging just 12 points per game while shooting just 37.5% from the field and 29.2% from deep, both career-low marks.
But Reaves has full belief in Russell to get his shot going and turn around what has been a disappointing start to the season.
“I’m sure if you were to ask DLo, he would be frustrated with shots not falling,” Reaves said. “But there’s been multiple games, the Phoenix game at Phoenix, the first five minutes I think AD had 16 or 17 or whatever it was, and I personally thought DLo was controlling that game with his pace, his passing ability.
“And he’s a pro at the end of the day. He works on his game, so me personally, I don’t feel like the shooting will continue. It just takes one game for him to see a couple go in and then he can get really hot. So it’s very early still and I have a lot of confidence in him to do the right thing.”
It is fair to note that Russell has found other ways to help the Lakers, in particular with his passing. Despite his usage going down, Russell is still averaging 5.8 assists while his turnovers have dropped below two per game.
Reaves and Russell are close and having faith in his teammate to figure things out should be expected. Even if Russell doesn’t shoot at the career-rate he did last year, it’s hard to believe it will remain below 30%. The season is still young, but Russell getting his shot to drop will do wonders for the Lakers offense going forward and Reaves is going to continue to back him throughout.
Lakers coach JJ Redick explains decision to bench D’Angelo Russell vs. Grizzlies
In the Lakers’ most recent game against the Memphis Grizzlies, D’Angelo Russell had a rough performance on both ends of the court. He played just 22 minutes and head coach JJ Redick explained his reason to bench the starting guard in the second half.
“Just level of compete,” Redick said. “Attention to detail. Some of the things we’ve talked with him about for a couple of weeks.” Redick also added that he felt Russell reverted to some of his old habits against the Grizzlies.
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