The Official D'Angelo Russell Thread II

[NetsJets]

I like the fact that he is doing a better job getting to the basket, he’s no longer just jacking up shots, he’s doing a better job beating bigs off the dribble where as before he’d settle for a jumper.

[MrDollarBills]

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[MrDollarBills]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2820645-dangelo-russell-is-breaking-free?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national

Russell, 22, has enjoyed a breakthrough fourth season, especially in recent months—he is averaging 21.3 points and 7.2 assists per game since Thanksgiving. He is among the dozen or so best closers in the game—only a handful of players have taken as many clutch-time shots as Russell (47) while hitting at a comparable clip (44.7 percent). He has long been praised for his court vision—and his assists have climbed for a fourth straight season—but his scoring sets him apart now. Commanding the Nets’ system, which relies heavily on high screens, he has shown brilliant offensive flexibility.

This season, when defenders have gone underneath screens, Russell is shooting 50 percent, per Synergy Sports. Far more often—two-thirds of the time—they go over screens, which might prompt Russell to drive and then shoot his beloved floater, which he converts 51.5 percent of the time, per Synergy, a remarkable number. His effectiveness is surprising, even to Russell himself. “Really?” he says excitedly upon hearing his statistics read to him. He had guessed 40 percent for each figure. “Wow.”

In a league that applauds free throws and threes while deriding the mid-range game, Russell plays against the grain. Yes, he’s an excellent three-point shooter—2.7 makes per game on 37.4 percent—but you won’t catch him diving into a defender to draw a foul or trying the popular, unbearable rip-through move. Recently, he scored 40 points without attempting a free throw, a stat that might be concerning if it weren’t so amazing. In Brooklyn, playing for a modernist coach in Kenny Atkinson—complete with a penchant for pace, threes and skinny ties—Russell is improbably leaning on the mid-range game.

“Kenny hates that shot. He hates it. He thinks it’s a low-percentage shot,” Russell says. Atkinson will sometimes send Russell a sort of lowlight reel of his worst mid-range attempts to prove their futility, though, slowly, he’s softening up. “Coming in [last summer], Coach was like, ‘We’re not shooting mid-range, and we’re not shooting floaters!’ And now it’s like, ‘OK, you can shoot your mid-range, you can shoot your floaters.’ That’s the trust we have, the trust we grew.”

^^I told yall Kenny gave Russell the green light.

“I can’t imagine what they’re trying to block out,” Russell says. Later, he adds: “If [the Lakers] didn’t let me go then, they were gonna let me go now, and I’d be going through what they’re going through. Best thing that happened in my career.”

^that's how you say "**** you, Magic" without saying it.

[MGrand15]

Read on Twitter

That's insane.

That bleacher report article is amazing too. Kenny's little appearances in these articles are always awesome. They always show why he makes such a good coach.

[Paradise]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2820645-dangelo-russell-is-breaking-free?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national

Russell, 22, has enjoyed a breakthrough fourth season, especially in recent months—he is averaging 21.3 points and 7.2 assists per game since Thanksgiving. He is among the dozen or so best closers in the game—only a handful of players have taken as many clutch-time shots as Russell (47) while hitting at a comparable clip (44.7 percent). He has long been praised for his court vision—and his assists have climbed for a fourth straight season—but his scoring sets him apart now. Commanding the Nets’ system, which relies heavily on high screens, he has shown brilliant offensive flexibility.

This season, when defenders have gone underneath screens, Russell is shooting 50 percent, per Synergy Sports. Far more often—two-thirds of the time—they go over screens, which might prompt Russell to drive and then shoot his beloved floater, which he converts 51.5 percent of the time, per Synergy, a remarkable number. His effectiveness is surprising, even to Russell himself. “Really?” he says excitedly upon hearing his statistics read to him. He had guessed 40 percent for each figure. “Wow.”

In a league that applauds free throws and threes while deriding the mid-range game, Russell plays against the grain. Yes, he’s an excellent three-point shooter—2.7 makes per game on 37.4 percent—but you won’t catch him diving into a defender to draw a foul or trying the popular, unbearable rip-through move. Recently, he scored 40 points without attempting a free throw, a stat that might be concerning if it weren’t so amazing. In Brooklyn, playing for a modernist coach in Kenny Atkinson—complete with a penchant for pace, threes and skinny ties—Russell is improbably leaning on the mid-range game.

“Kenny hates that shot. He hates it. He thinks it’s a low-percentage shot,” Russell says. Atkinson will sometimes send Russell a sort of lowlight reel of his worst mid-range attempts to prove their futility, though, slowly, he’s softening up. “Coming in [last summer], Coach was like, ‘We’re not shooting mid-range, and we’re not shooting floaters!’ And now it’s like, ‘OK, you can shoot your mid-range, you can shoot your floaters.’ That’s the trust we have, the trust we grew.”

^^I told yall Kenny gave Russell the green light.

“I can’t imagine what they’re trying to block out,” Russell says. Later, he adds: “If [the Lakers] didn’t let me go then, they were gonna let me go now, and I’d be going through what they’re going through. Best thing that happened in my career.”

^that's how you say "**** you, Magic" without saying it.

“I’ve been through it, and people were kind of begging me for a response—they want me to respond to what [Magic] said, they want me to speak on everything that I’ve been through in my career, and it’s like, Nah.” Russell is naturally laid-back and thoughtful. (“It’s so easy because it’s who I am,” he says.) The drama and spotlight of Hollywood made for an awkward fit; Brooklyn is more his speed. Russell likens the Nets’ environment to a close-knit college type, and to what the Spurs have built—steady and concerned with players’ well-being. (General manager Sean Marks spent three years in San Antonio as a player and four more working for the franchise.)


“This organization has done an even better job of accepting me for me, and letting me be who I am.”

[MrDollarBills]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2820645-dangelo-russell-is-breaking-free?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national

Russell, 22, has enjoyed a breakthrough fourth season, especially in recent months—he is averaging 21.3 points and 7.2 assists per game since Thanksgiving. He is among the dozen or so best closers in the game—only a handful of players have taken as many clutch-time shots as Russell (47) while hitting at a comparable clip (44.7 percent). He has long been praised for his court vision—and his assists have climbed for a fourth straight season—but his scoring sets him apart now. Commanding the Nets’ system, which relies heavily on high screens, he has shown brilliant offensive flexibility.

This season, when defenders have gone underneath screens, Russell is shooting 50 percent, per Synergy Sports. Far more often—two-thirds of the time—they go over screens, which might prompt Russell to drive and then shoot his beloved floater, which he converts 51.5 percent of the time, per Synergy, a remarkable number. His effectiveness is surprising, even to Russell himself. “Really?” he says excitedly upon hearing his statistics read to him. He had guessed 40 percent for each figure. “Wow.”

In a league that applauds free throws and threes while deriding the mid-range game, Russell plays against the grain. Yes, he’s an excellent three-point shooter—2.7 makes per game on 37.4 percent—but you won’t catch him diving into a defender to draw a foul or trying the popular, unbearable rip-through move. Recently, he scored 40 points without attempting a free throw, a stat that might be concerning if it weren’t so amazing. In Brooklyn, playing for a modernist coach in Kenny Atkinson—complete with a penchant for pace, threes and skinny ties—Russell is improbably leaning on the mid-range game.

“Kenny hates that shot. He hates it. He thinks it’s a low-percentage shot,” Russell says. Atkinson will sometimes send Russell a sort of lowlight reel of his worst mid-range attempts to prove their futility, though, slowly, he’s softening up. “Coming in [last summer], Coach was like, ‘We’re not shooting mid-range, and we’re not shooting floaters!’ And now it’s like, ‘OK, you can shoot your mid-range, you can shoot your floaters.’ That’s the trust we have, the trust we grew.”

^^I told yall Kenny gave Russell the green light.

“I can’t imagine what they’re trying to block out,” Russell says. Later, he adds: “If [the Lakers] didn’t let me go then, they were gonna let me go now, and I’d be going through what they’re going through. Best thing that happened in my career.”

^that's how you say "**** you, Magic" without saying it.

“I’ve been through it, and people were kind of begging me for a response—they want me to respond to what [Magic] said, they want me to speak on everything that I’ve been through in my career, and it’s like, Nah.” Russell is naturally laid-back and thoughtful. (“It’s so easy because it’s who I am,” he says.) The drama and spotlight of Hollywood made for an awkward fit; Brooklyn is more his speed. Russell likens the Nets’ environment to a close-knit college type, and to what the Spurs have built—steady and concerned with players’ well-being. (General manager Sean Marks spent three years in San Antonio as a player and four more working for the franchise.)


“This organization has done an even better job of accepting me for me, and letting me be who I am.”

This gif is going to get some run on the GB

[LKIRNets]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2820645-dangelo-russell-is-breaking-free?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national



^^I told yall Kenny gave Russell the green light.



^that's how you say "**** you, Magic" without saying it.

“I’ve been through it, and people were kind of begging me for a response—they want me to respond to what [Magic] said, they want me to speak on everything that I’ve been through in my career, and it’s like, Nah.” Russell is naturally laid-back and thoughtful. (“It’s so easy because it’s who I am,” he says.) The drama and spotlight of Hollywood made for an awkward fit; Brooklyn is more his speed. Russell likens the Nets’ environment to a close-knit college type, and to what the Spurs have built—steady and concerned with players’ well-being. (General manager Sean Marks spent three years in San Antonio as a player and four more working for the franchise.)


“This organization has done an even better job of accepting me for me, and letting me be who I am.”

This gif is going to get some run on the GB

[moonpie]

Read on Twitter

[MrDollarBills]

Read on Twitter

It will be even more fun for him when that max money and endorsements roll in. Stay humble and hungry dude and the sky is the limit

[SpeedyG]

Watch on YouTube

its scary that russells off-nights are starting to look like westbrook stat lines

How many times was he fouled in these clips and didn't get the and 1 call? Ridiculous.

Strong, aggressive drives to the rim and even when he didn't have it going shot wise in the 1st half he was making the team around him better.

Give this man his respect. He's an all star level player. He's scoring 20+ points a night like it's nothing to him anymore. The light switch has been officially been flipped on.

It comes with time and rep. This is why I've been harping on his attempts and how he's shied away from contact to shoot floater and fade.

Last season Spencer had the same thing. Caris did to (and it was changing before he got hurt, now it seems refs aren't "respecting" him again). rookie RJ had the same issue.

NBA refs take about a season to develop a "rep" for players. If Russell keeps being aggressive attacking like he's been the past few games, by next season he'll have that rep and refs will be giving him the lee way in some of these drives that he's not getting now.

But you gotta stay at it even if you're not getting the calls now, because you'll get it later.

Sent from my SM-G925T using RealGM mobile app

[SpeedyG]

Read on Twitter

That's insane.

That bleacher report article is amazing too. Kenny's little appearances in these articles are always awesome. They always show why he makes such a good coach.

Bleached report was terrific.

Sent from my SM-G925T using RealGM mobile app

[MrDollarBills]

Watch on YouTube

its scary that russells off-nights are starting to look like westbrook stat lines

How many times was he fouled in these clips and didn't get the and 1 call? Ridiculous.

Strong, aggressive drives to the rim and even when he didn't have it going shot wise in the 1st half he was making the team around him better.

Give this man his respect. He's an all star level player. He's scoring 20+ points a night like it's nothing to him anymore. The light switch has been officially been flipped on.

It comes with time and rep. This is why I've been harping on his attempts and how he's shied away from contact to shoot floater and fade.

Last season Spencer had the same thing. Caris did to (and it was changing before he got hurt, now it seems refs aren't "respecting" him again). rookie RJ had the same issue.

NBA refs take about a season to develop a "rep" for players. If Russell keeps being aggressive attacking like he's been the past few games, by next season he'll have that rep and refs will be giving him the lee way in some of these drives that he's not getting now.

But you gotta stay at it even if you're not getting the calls now, because you'll get it later.

Sent from my SM-G925T using RealGM mobile app

He's learning to sell the contact. Refs need to start calling it more. Every single time he goes to the rim someone is either riding him or they hit him. People may hate this but sometimes he's going to have to flail his arms or make it look like someone shot him.

[SpeedyG]

How many times was he fouled in these clips and didn't get the and 1 call? Ridiculous.

Strong, aggressive drives to the rim and even when he didn't have it going shot wise in the 1st half he was making the team around him better.

Give this man his respect. He's an all star level player. He's scoring 20+ points a night like it's nothing to him anymore. The light switch has been officially been flipped on.

It comes with time and rep. This is why I've been harping on his attempts and how he's shied away from contact to shoot floater and fade.

Last season Spencer had the same thing. Caris did to (and it was changing before he got hurt, now it seems refs aren't "respecting" him again). rookie RJ had the same issue.

NBA refs take about a season to develop a "rep" for players. If Russell keeps being aggressive attacking like he's been the past few games, by next season he'll have that rep and refs will be giving him the lee way in some of these drives that he's not getting now.

But you gotta stay at it even if you're not getting the calls now, because you'll get it later.

Sent from my SM-G925T using RealGM mobile app

He's learning to sell the contact. Refs need to start calling it more. Every single time he goes to the rim someone is either riding him or they hit him. People may hate this but sometimes he's going to have to flail his arms or make it look like someone shot him.

Yeah I hate those players, because it gets to be too much (looking at you harden). But again, the key is not to shy away from it. If you do, refs will never give you consistent whistle. He just needs to keep doing what he's doing. At some point he'll develop the reputation and the whistle will come.

Sent from my SM-G925T using RealGM mobile app

[Rockice_24]

As for the D-Lo mid range game. I love it. Most guys would take the extra dribble and draw contact but if you watched him in OT last night he was pulling up at about 6 feet for an easy 2. I know Keeny hates the mid range shot but this is a good shot especially if you can hit it at a good clip. I think it would be worse if it was from 10+ feet out that KA would get pissed but a 5-6 footer is a clean shot considering most bigs would take a step back like Zizic did giving him an easy look. He basically did that like 2-3 times in a row last night on the PnR it was beautiful to watch.

Can't wait to see this team healthy and fresh for the 2nd half playoff push.

[Keith Van Horn]

We're literally seeing this guy improve and get better week by week. Funny thing is he's far from done. I couldn't be prouder to be a Nets fan having this guy be the face of our organization.

I hope he stays humble, but this kid is going to be GOOD. He definitely needs to work on his consistency and continuing to positively impact the game even when he's having an off night. But when his shot is falling and he's got his confidence on full display, he's fun to watch.

I also wanted to point out I really believe there's going to be a Russell following from players. They're going to want to come to Brooklyn based on D'Angelo... I know we like to throw around the DLo v. Kyrie thing, but for real, we HAVE TO keep D'Angelo. He's going to do great things for this organization long term.

[Keith Van Horn]

just spent a few minutes on the GB reading Russell comments.

there's a good thread debating if he deserves the max or not. That's fine, it's a good topic to discuss. What's laughable though is the dislike for the guy coming in, and the grasping people are doing on why he's such a bad player. It's clear half of them are salty ass Laker fans, or people who've already made their mind up on him based upon previous seasons and don't care how much he's changed and improved. So much ignorance and evidence that none of those people have watched them play and are going based upon what they hear.

[MrDollarBills]

just spent a few minutes on the GB reading Russell comments.

there's a good thread debating if he deserves the max or not. That's fine, it's a good topic to discuss. What's laughable though is the dislike for the guy coming in, and the grasping people are doing on why he's such a bad player. It's clear half of them are salty ass Laker fans, or people who've already made their mind up on him based upon previous seasons and don't care how much he's changed and improved. So much ignorance and evidence that none of those people have watched them play and are going based upon what they hear.

*rolls up sleeves*

[Keith Van Horn]

just spent a few minutes on the GB reading Russell comments.

there's a good thread debating if he deserves the max or not. That's fine, it's a good topic to discuss. What's laughable though is the dislike for the guy coming in, and the grasping people are doing on why he's such a bad player. It's clear half of them are salty ass Laker fans, or people who've already made their mind up on him based upon previous seasons and don't care how much he's changed and improved. So much ignorance and evidence that none of those people have watched them play and are going based upon what they hear.

*rolls up sleeves*

I wanted to through all the comments and respond to some of the most ignorant ones, but I just don't have the time to deal with the trolls. I'd rather have objective discussions with you guys who "get it" in terms of being a fan of this franchise.

Again I have no problem with everyone debating if he's max-worthy or not, it's just the stupid ass "he's a chucker" and "he's the kind of guy who'd get a max and then go full scrub on his team" that got me clearly just none of these guys have been following the progress this franchise has made. They're stuck in 2015.

[MrDollarBills]

I had to tear into those suckers on the GB. Dudes talk too much crap about this team when they know very little.

[MrDollarBills]

just spent a few minutes on the GB reading Russell comments.

there's a good thread debating if he deserves the max or not. That's fine, it's a good topic to discuss. What's laughable though is the dislike for the guy coming in, and the grasping people are doing on why he's such a bad player. It's clear half of them are salty ass Laker fans, or people who've already made their mind up on him based upon previous seasons and don't care how much he's changed and improved. So much ignorance and evidence that none of those people have watched them play and are going based upon what they hear.

*rolls up sleeves*

I wanted to through all the comments and respond to some of the most ignorant ones, but I just don't have the time to deal with the trolls. I'd rather have objective discussions with you guys who "get it" in terms of being a fan of this franchise.

Again I have no problem with everyone debating if he's max-worthy or not, it's just the stupid ass "he's a chucker" and "he's the kind of guy who'd get a max and then go full scrub on his team" that got me clearly just none of these guys have been following the progress this franchise has made. They're stuck in 2015.

9 out of 10 posters in that thread have not watched Russell play a single minute this season, and you can tell EASILY. Clowns bro