The Los Angeles Lakers need everyone playing at a high level to defeat the Denver Nuggets and, unfortunately, they did not get that from D’Angelo Russell in Game 3.
The point guard went scoreless in the contest, missing all seven of his field goal attempts as the Lakers fell into a 3-0 deficit to the Nuggets in their first round playoff series.
After a terrible series against the Nuggets last year, and a rough Game 1, many hoped Russell had finally turned a corner after knocking down seven 3-pointers in Game 2. Head coach Darvin Ham as well as the likes of Anthony Davis and LeBron James continued to preach the confidence they had in Russell being able to deliver.
While that didn’t happen in Game 3, and the Lakers now find themselves on the brink of elimination, Ham still believes in Russell and expects him to bounce back in Game 4.
“It’s unfortunate, man. He had some good looks that he just didn’t knock down,” Ham said. “It’s as simple as that. Similar to Game 1. He was able to bounce back in Game 2, and I expect him to bounce back in Game 4.”
Russell himself said the same thing after Game 2, believing he had the same good looks in the first two games, but they just went in the basket in the second. The point guard undoubtedly had some good looks in Game 3 as well, but nothing was falling.
Of Russell’s seven shot attempts, six were 3-pointers and Ham noted that the Lakers do encourage Russell to attack the basket more when his shot isn’t falling.
“Yeah, we encourage him all the time to attack downhill. Don’t hesitate,” Ham added. “A lot of times, either pick and roll with Bron or AD and he’s so worried, back and forth playing a cat-mouse game. He has opportunities to get all the way downhill to the rim. But you know, he’s a scorer. He’s a natural scorer. And so he knows how to get himself going.”
Throughout this season, Russell has been absolutely pivotal to the Lakers success, but there is just something about the Nuggets that has thrown him off his game the last two seasons. If the Lakers have any chance of fighting back in this series, they desperately need Russell to lock in and give them the offensive boost he is capable of.
D’Angelo Russell ‘likely’ to opt-out of Lakers contract this offseason
Another question surrounding D’Angelo Russell is whether he will be a member of the Lakers moving forward. The point guard signed a two-year deal with a player option for next season and could choose to opt-out and become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
At the moment, he is likely to do just that according to the latest rumors. Russell is owed $18.7 million next season should he choose to opt-in, but it is unclear whether or not he would stand to make more money as a free agent should he hit the open market and that could be the deciding factor in his choice.