Russell will be Fine

B-Scott · Post #1 » by **B-Scott** » Fri Nov 6, 2015 7:45 am

I played ball and im sure others here have balled. This kid has a natural high IQ for the game for only 19 yrs old.

What im seing is....He's starting to get to his spots, which is the mid-range 18 footer. He's just not knocking it down with
consistency. Russ, will explode in the next 5 games.....Trust me

He was on pace for 10 points , 8 assist and 8 boards, but Byron didn't play him 4th quarter. Mr Scott, might want to consider benching Kobe and playing Hibbert. Randle, Russell, Clarkston and Lou Williams. Don't ruin the kid's confidence. He was on pace for a triple double.........

LakersLegacy · Post #2 » by **LakersLegacy** » Fri Nov 6, 2015 8:47 am

He will improve. But he doesn't look like a good pick at #2.

Durant was a 2nd pick. Mj was a third pick. Kobe was a 13th pick.

It happens sometimes.
Kwame was a 1st pick. Beasley was a 2nd pick.

Russell must improve his defense. To a novice rondo looked so much more athletic and spry than Russell. I wish Russell got to work w Nash. Scott has to teach Russell.

Laker_Kid · Post #3 » by **Laker_Kid** » Fri Nov 6, 2015 10:58 am

I'm not seeing any sort of intensity or hunger from DLO, he's just kinda... there. maybe it's his age, maybe he'll show it more once he matures... but usually that sort of thing comes naturally. but yeah, he's young and needs a lot of time to develop. I also think the expectations for him is too damn high (part of it being a Laker).

5ertwenty · Post #4 » by **5ertwenty** » Fri Nov 6, 2015 12:14 pm

Would like to see him drive more to the rim. In due time it will all work out. He is way to talented and seems pretty driven. He'll work it out.

WVlakerfan · Post #5 » by **WVlakerfan** » Fri Nov 6, 2015 1:02 pm

I have said it before and I will say it again. We should not be having a lot of the conversations were are, at this early of a point in the season. I think we have to wait until at least January and possibly the ASG before we start putting labels on our rookies and sophmores. The sample size at this point in the season is so small that you cannot make blanket statements example James Harden is shooting .294% from the field.

PICKnPOP · Post #6 » by **PICKnPOP** » Fri Nov 6, 2015 6:22 pm

I agree with the OP. This kids IQ is great, he gets all the looks he wants they are just not falling. His shot will start falling soon. He's also a very reliable ball handler. This kid had a bad first game with 3 turnovers but since he's only had 1 turnover per game. He's also setting guys up for good looks that they will finish with time.

I'm not sure why everyone keeps criticizing his defense when he plays really good defense. He just needs to work on PnR defense. I think his man defense is already good.

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Levity · Post #7 » by **Levity** » Fri Nov 6, 2015 6:38 pm

the kid obviously has great IQ and vision, but what he seems to lacks is instinct off the pnr. every time i see a screen set for him, he takes it and then thinks for a second. it's honestly very noticeable, and slows down his game for just a second (which is enough for defenses to recover). is he just allows the game to come naturally to him, he'd be much better pnr pg, because he'd actually get to the rim. his slow footedness, i feel, is overstated. he has a decent sized frame that opposing pgs will have trouble covering. he just needs to attack, attack, attack. after that, pocket passes and things of that nature, will be there for the taking.

salmahayek · Post #8 » by **salmahayek** » Fri Nov 6, 2015 7:53 pm

He may ultimately be fine, however, the Lakers need him to be a transcendent player, not just fine.

Obviously, not right now as he is truly a pup, but at the same time, I do not see the speed, quickness, and athleticism that would allow him to be a good defender and ultimately a really difficult cover on offense.

Russell needs to become an upper level all star player for the Lakers for this pick to be successful in the big picture of things. Right now, that looks really daunting for this kid.

howiezbt · Post #9 » by **howiezbt** » Fri Nov 6, 2015 8:21 pm

I agree that he will be fine, maybe even a very good NBA player, but at this point the real issue is how good the other guys look.

Okafor looks like a stud. He is beasting on a team that the other team focuses only on him.

Townes, Porzingis, Mudiay all look like they belong.

How good would Okafor look next to Randle, Clarkson, Kobe, etc.? Oh man!

Worried that this could be a Darko thing. He was a decent player eventually, but the other guys drafted around him were wow. Kupchak got too smart for himself like Dumars did.

Post #10 » by **crazyeights** » Fri Nov 6, 2015 8:31 pm

LakersLegacy wrote:He will improve. But he doesn't look like a good pick at #2.

Durant was a 2nd pick. Mj was a third pick. Kobe was a 13th pick.

It happens sometimes.
Kwame was a 1st pick. Beasley was a 2nd pick.

Russell must improve his defense. To a novice rondo looked so much more athletic and spry than Russell. I wish Russell got to work w Nash. Scott has to teach Russell.

I didn't know such a short post could contain so many questionable thoughts.

You understand that you only get the 2nd pick the year you get the pick, right? Comparing drafts to relative picks is silly. Especially when you are doing it within 4 days of Russell's tenure in the NBA--at 19. (Russell being 19 can't be understated. When he was picked this was always billed as a long term thing. If we wanted the most NBA ready we would have went with Okafor. This is a project. Projects need time...say more than 4 games? iamworthy posted something in the summer that showed just how few guards have been picked in the draft as teenagers. It's a HUGE transition to make. High school to college to NBA. You bring up Jordan, he was 21 his rookie season. Those 2 years are huge.)

So let's hold off on legacy talk for another 6 years.

Comparing him to Kwame is just ridiculous. Russell has natural talent in spades. His basketball instincts, especially passing are oozing out of him. He's a great rebounder for a guard. His shot is smooth, he's simply missing shots. It's called confidence. He puts in the work, has the ability, he'll be fine. It's about getting into a rhythm.

Bringing up Nash is pointless. He works for Golden State now.

I could have spent time fleshing out these reasonings more, but to be honest it's a waste of time. Can't disagree with a post more than yours.

chefy12 · Post #11 » by **chefy12** » Fri Nov 6, 2015 8:54 pm

yea hes aight, but okafor > russel.

chefy12 · Post #12 » by **chefy12** » Fri Nov 6, 2015 8:59 pm

i think the FO were really banking on signing an all star big last offseason thats why they went with russel.

Michael Lucky · Post #13 » by **Michael Lucky** » Fri Nov 6, 2015 11:18 pm

I'm not too worried about Russell. He'll find his shot, but like most young rookie guards his FG% is going to stink. Overall his numbers would be far more impressive on other teams, unfortunately he cannot have anywhere near the type of usage rate you'd like with the players he's surrounded with. As for the whole Okafor thing, I think it's a pretty pointless comparison to make. He's got his own red flags like rebounding anyways.

Dr Aki · Post #14 » by **Dr Aki** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 1:38 am

chefy12 wrote:i think the FO were really banking on signing an all star big last offseason thats why they went with russel.

2012, 2014 all star roy hibbert don't tick that box?

gts1 · Post #15 » by **gts1** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 4:10 am

Dr Aki wrote:
chefy12 wrote:i think the FO were really banking on signing an all star big last offseason thats why they went with russel.

2012, 2014 all star roy hibbert don't tick that box?

Hibbert has been a good signing so far... bonus is we got a big man that hits his free throws more often than not

PKABOOICU · Post #16 » by **PKABOOICU** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 1:27 pm

yeah Towns and Okafor already look like studs, and Porzingis looks like he's set to be an allstar in the coming future. Mudiay is going to be a good player as well.
Russell is not looking like a top 2 pick right now, but 3-4 years down the line, we may look back and say he was the right pick. Ive always thought Russell was going to be the best player out of this draft. He doesn't look great, but he doesn't look bad either. I don't know if he will ever be a superstar like Harden or Curry, but he will be a starting PG in this league. I won't be mad if he turns out like Mike Conley or Kyle Lowry. Age and IQ are on his side and he looks like a twig right now. Give him 2-3 years to fill out his body.

DEEP3CL · Post #17 » by **DEEP3CL** » Sat Nov 7, 2015 5:02 pm

Let me give you guys few answers on Russ that will take care of itself over time....

Driving to the rim - This will come with him bulking up in the upper body, he's not super athletic but he DOESN'T have to be because physicality will be the key to scoring in the interior for him.

Aggressiveness - This will come once his confidence is up, and that will come once he sees he can control the game with the skills he's had all his playing life.

B-Scott · Post #18 » by **B-Scott** » Sun Nov 8, 2015 9:24 am

Great point DEEP3CL.

rzzzzz · Post #19 » by **rzzzzz** » Sun Nov 8, 2015 4:00 pm

GOTEMCOACH wrote: Porzingis looks like he's set to be an allstar in the coming future. ...
Russell is not looking like a top 2 pick right now, but 3-4 years down the line, we may look back and say he was the right pick... Give him 2-3 years to fill out his body.

Funny thing is Scott talking to the press about how much he liked Porz going into the draft, but he was afraid he would take 2 or 3 years to develop. (Kobe says he dug him as well.) he admits now the kid looks like he already arrived.

Pjax4Prez · Post #20 » by **Pjax4Prez** » Sun Nov 8, 2015 4:54 pm

I think Russell will be fine as well, but the problem is, will "fine" be enough for the #2 pick in a draft with such talent. I'm under the impression the Lakers were banking on acquiring a big time 4 or 5 in FA, so in that sense, Russell was a good gamble, just a risky one at the same time. But the kid's IQ is high enough to play in this league but he has to be a more physical guard and use his size more since he doesn't have much athleticism

I think he should really study Chauncey Billups. He has a good game to model for a guy like D-Lo