Many fans have been calling for Los Angeles Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell to return to the starting lineup, but head coach Byron Scott has yet to make the change.
Scott has said that Russell will eventually return to the starting lineup, but stopped short of saying when it would happen, though he did suggest it could come after the All-Star break.
For his part, Russell said he doesn’t deserve to be a starter based on the way he’s been playing recently according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times:
Very good post game from D'Angelo Russell – said way he's playing he doesn't deserve to start- he's never played pg before – tough to learn
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) January 29, 2016
Russell had his worst game in a long time against the Bulls as he had as many points as turnovers in the team’s eighth straight loss. He may be coming down a little hard on himself, however, as January has been his best month as a pro as he has averaged over 13 points and three assists on 45 percent from the field.
That being said, Russell still has a long ways to go and he is admitting as much. He was viewed as a point guard coming into this season, but he didn’t play the position exclusively in his lone season at Ohio State, spending a lot of time off the ball as the Buckeyes had a senior point guard to take some pressure off of him.
Some have wondered whether Russell is a little too confident in himself, but quotes like these show he expects a lot of himself and can admit he has a lot of room to grow. Hopefully, he can use this bad game as motivation to turn things around.
