LA Lakers Insider: D’Angelo Russell on Verge of Breakout Season

LOS ANGELES — The impressive preseason glimpses of Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell are just a sign of what’s to come: Russell is primed for a breakout sophomore season.

As a rookie, he flashed his potential, scoring a career-high 39 points against the Brooklyn Nets. He reached the 20-point mark on 13 occasions, but over the course of the year, Russell struggled with consistency. Often overshadowed by the retiring Kobe Bryant and shuffled in and out of the starting lineup by former head coach Byron Scott, Russell scored in single digits 27 times, finishing the season with an average of 13.2 points a night, while shooting 41 percent from the field. 

While he justified the Lakers’ decision to select him second overall in the 2015 NBA draft, he averaged just 3.3 assists a game, nearly matched by 2.5 turnovers.

“My mentality is just way different this year. I have more of a business-like approach to everything I do,” Russell said. “Getting that one year of experience under my belt, I know what I’m capable of.”

The Lakers replaced Scott with new head coach Luke Walton, who spent the last two years in Golden State with the Warriors as an assistant to Steve Kerr. Comparing the 20-year old Russell to two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry is premature, but Walton brings an offensive system with him that is favorable to a lead guard with a deft shooting touch.

After a quiet preseason debut against the Sacramento Kings, Russell scored 54 points in 56 minutes, while hitting 8-of-15 three-point attempts in consecutive games against the Denver Nuggets. His 33 points during Sunday’s 124-115 victory came on 13 of 19 shooting.

Russell is still searching for balance between his playmaking duties and scoring, but Walton has given his young guard the green light to look for his own shot.

“At this level, there’s a fine line of doing what the coaches want and playing off feel. The guy’s got a phenomenal feel for the game,” Walton said. “What we’re trying to tell him, ‘Any time you’re open, shoot it. We want you to play-make. We want you to get guys involved from the point guard position, but when you’re coming off screens and you’re open, the best way to make the defense pay is to shoot it.'”

“He’s one of the best shooters we have,” he continued.

The Lakers especially need Russell to step into the role as the team’s leader. The franchise has a number of quality role players like Jose Calderon, Luol Deng, Timofey Mozgov and Lou Williams, but it’s the youth movement that will put the Lakers back on the map…eventually.

Russell conceded that he’s still learning his place in the league and on his own team.

“You say leader and you say the point guard, all this is new to me. I don’t know what it takes to win games and I don’t know what it takes to make it to the payoffs,” said Russell, noting the franchise won just 17 games last season. “We’ve got veteran guys that know what it takes, so they’re leaders at the same time. It’s about coming together as one and being a complete group.”

Walton, the NBA’s youngest coach at 36 years old, is sympathetic to Russell’s growing pains.

“It’s got to be challenging. He’s [20] and he’s the starting point guard for the L.A. Lakers. I think he’s naturally a scoring point guard. I think that’s who he naturally is as a player. But he wants to win, so he’s willing to play the right way and play the way the coaches are asking him to play,” Walton said. “I think it gets tough at times when you’re that young and you’re still learning how to do it all.”

While Russell bumped heads with Scott last year, he and his new coach have a strong early bond.

“I feel like he makes everybody feel comfortable from the first guy to the 20th guy. Everybody feels a part of something. Right now it’s a rebuilding process and everybody feels a part of it,” Russell said.

Russell …

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