D’Angelo Russell’s Big Night and the Lakers’ Future

D’Angelo Russell had a huge scoring night against the Brooklyn Nets on March 1st, 2016, in which the rookie had scored a career high 39 points.

His 39 points were the most by a rookie in three years, and he also had eight three pointers, which is the most by a rookie in five years.

Russell currently averages 13 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. In the last 5 games he’s been averaging 22.8 points per game.

Against the Nets, Russell had made 14 field goals out of 21, recorded 1 steal, 3 assists and 6 rebounds.

D’Angelo Russell is slowly becoming a mature young player. Lakers coach Byron Scott never gave him playing time because he was still developing. Russell only played 1 season in college basketball and is age 20.

Scott and the fans probably believe Russell is earning playing time even though it doesn’t seem like it.

This season in some instances he has looked like a superstar but other times he looked like he didn’t know what he was doing.

When D’Angelo Russell hit the clutch shot in the 4th quarter against the Nets he said “Ice in my veins” pointing to his wrists.

Russell definitely has the potential to become a star in the NBA, but it’s never easy to do so, especially on a struggling team like the Lakers.

He just needs to mature more and have Kobe Bryant, who is retiring after this season, to teach him some skills. Being mentored by one of the all-time greats Kobe Bryant is definitely a big plus.

The Lakers seemingly have a bright future with Russell and Clarkson. But what’s remaining is a big man and they surely will get one in the draft.

Jordan Clarkson, another young and rising star on the Lakers is averaging 15.6 points, 2.7 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game.

In this league and on many other sports teams, players that are extremely young typically don’t have good seasons, and that is the case with the Lakers.

It’s a growing process; players can’t just expect to be so good right away. They have to train more and realize that they have to be patient and not expect the best things right away.

One exception was the Thunder in 2010-2011. They had a fantastic year, finishing the season at a 55-27 record. That team was just so athletic and they had a lot of energy.

As the season moves right along, hopefully we will learn more about D’Angelo Russell. Teams like this year’s Lakers, you have to watch and see who is having a good season.

In the draft, the Lakers are eyeing Ben Simmons, the Power Forward from LSU. He possesses strength and scoring ability. He averages a double-double per game with 19.6 points per game and 11.9 rebounds per game.

If Russell and Clarkson continue to shine, then the Lakers can be a dangerous team within the next five years.