Why does Luke punish Russell?

B-Scott · Post #1 » by **B-Scott** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 1:25 pm

Luke punishes the kid and he wasn't the reason we fell down by 20

First quarter last night we were in the game and he was EASILY destroying Isiah Thomas. EASY. They had a nice battle going and the game was close. Luke takes Russell out the game and we fall down by 20. How is that his fault?

Majority of his mistakes come when we're down by 20. He was playing great first quarter

Luke should be fired for allowing Nick Young to take 45 foot jump shots off the first pass. Jordan Clarkson 45 foot jumpers and Julius Randle is arguably the DUMBEST and lowest IQ Laker since Kwame Brown

We fall down 30 because of shot selection and Luke doesn't hold Randle, Young, Clarkson accountable

Michael Lucky · Post #2 » by **Michael Lucky** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 1:31 pm

I'm confused. Who is blaming Russell for the loss?

B-Scott · Post #3 » by **B-Scott** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 2:08 pm

I changed it. I just don't understand why he gets taken out of games

Post #4 » by **TyCobb** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 2:55 pm

His defense is that bad. Accountability, longer leash than Mudiay.

danfantastk32 · Post #5 » by **danfantastk32** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 3:00 pm

B-Scott wrote:I changed it. I just don't understand why he gets taken out of games

He just stood there as his man cut behind him on back-to-back trips down the floor (or at least within the same 90 seconds). Both led to the guy just sorta dropping the ball in the hoop, with Russell's teammates staring at him like "uh....you hurt or something?"

I think more guys do that than just Russell. But in this case it was bad....and it was essentially back to back plays. Maybe 1 play in between. Luke had to do something.

It should be noted that a minute or two later, most the of the starters were pulled. The bench was in, and that they actually started a nice comeback. Luke went with them. So ALL the starters were being punished tonight. And when they lost their gas....Luke threw 4 starters in all at once.....including Russell.

B-Scott · Post #6 » by **B-Scott** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 3:10 pm

I agree defense is an issue with Russell, but he was on pace to go for 30 last night first quarter. I think he gets frustrated with Nick Young taking bad shots. It's hard to play defense when your always chasing the fastbreak.

I do agree he needs to bring it more on the defensive end. Here is my issue though with Luke. The Celtics coach didn't take Isiah out the game for his poor defense on D'Angelo. Luke, as a coach could help Russell out a little, by posting him up and tiring Isiah out. Russell, scores on Isiah with ease

Russell, needs to be vocal when Nick Young takes 35 foot threes off the first pass and i'm surprised Fisher and Jjames Worthy don't point that out on the Lakers channel.

danfantastk32 · Post #7 » by **danfantastk32** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 3:25 pm

B-Scott wrote:I agree defense is an issue with Russell, but he was on pace to go for 30 last night first quarter. I think he gets frustrated with Nick Young taking bad shots. It's hard to play defense when your always chasing the fastbreak.

I do agree he needs to bring it more on the defensive end. Here is my issue though with Luke. The Celtics coach didn't take Isiah out the game for his poor defense on D'Angelo. Luke, as a coach could help Russell out a little, by posting him up and tiring Isiah out. Russell, scores on Isiah with ease

Russell, needs to be vocal when Nick Young takes 35 foot threes off the first pass and i'm surprised Fisher and Jjames Worthy don't point that out on the Lakers channel.

Agree. I have my doubts/questions about Russell, personally. It alot of it starts with what your saying. He was picked to be the leader of this team. The floor captain. Some may say that's not fair.....but he certainly didn't shy away from those lofty comparisons leading up to the draft....his contract signing, and I'm sure we're gonna hear he has one INCREDIBLE opinion of his game come extension time. So with that said....he was brought in to lead the team, and he needs to lead. You can't lead the team, and not try defensively. You also gotta hold guys accountable on the other end. Your responsible for the team's structure, pace...and you set the tone.

IMO D'angelo still lives in a world of ME. He needs to play good defense TO SET THE TONE....not to ensure his minutes. You see the difference? That's what I don't see from the guy at all. I thought we'd start seeing the "floor captain" emerge this second season. His individual stats are ok. I don't think they are really good. That's debatable, but what's not debatable is that the team he's supposed to lead is terrible. 5 guys doing their thing. Clarkson just does whatever he feels. Randle go's charging bull whenever he feels "dunked on". Ingram is just a mess. I literally feel sorry for the guy at this point. slouched shoulders, completely unsure of anything he's doing. This team needs someone to LEAD.

Luke's a rookie. He's not doing a great job here either. None of the backups we signed had any leadership qualities. This team is starved for a Fisher, or even a Steve Blake right now.

I think Russell is more talented than either of those two.....but he's not approaching it right at all. And I agree Luke's not handling it right. It's a 19-43 mess!

danfantastk32 · Post #8 » by **danfantastk32** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 3:33 pm

I think the vets that were signed, have been complete failures in that aspect as well. This team has failed Russell just as much as he's kinda failed to become the leader. I'll give him that. Hard to run the show if Luke makes Ingram the point. Luke's just trying to get Ingram involved.

Russell just needs to take it, and make it his. I think the talent is there. The mind? I dunno.

This is where I really hope Magic and crew get some better pieces for these guys. Russell REALLY coulda used a mentor to help with the approach thing. I think this is what Scott was trying to do with him....but it was done in such a poor manner.

danfantastk32 · Post #9 » by **danfantastk32** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 3:40 pm

I worry with this team that we have young pups with too many bad habits now. I like Luke. I think Luke will be a good coach. But I looked at a guy like Mark Jackson, who was pg...has some experience bringing a younger team along, and thought he'd be more what these guys needed. I think that would have been a better pick for Russell.

Spilt milk. I think Luke can/will get it. We'll just have a couple more "dropped eggs" in the process.

Let's hope Magic can turn this around. I think it's real mess. Top to bottom. Defense, Mental, approach, habits. the vets. Nothing you'd even call a leader. Young and Williams were our vets. I mean jesus. I thought Deng would help with some of this, but I think he just came to cash a check, honestly. He never even showed up. Giant mess.

Landsberger · Post #10 » by **Landsberger** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 4:44 pm

I think Russell's minutes are somewhat up to him. He's already missed time with a knee issue that he sought treatment for and a game last week in the mid 3rd quarter he motioned to Luke to come out. The read here may be totally wrong and it could be a physical issue or just plain stamina. He does seem to wear down in the second half often after showing good effort early.

Seeking platelet therapy on a "sore knee" may be reason enough that they are medically limiting his minutes. He did play 36 or so the other night however which has been a really rare occurrence for any of our players.

It could also be Luke sending messages for things we aren't seeing. It is interesting that during his best stretch of the season he wasn't able to be on the floor more.

chefy · Post #11 » by **chefy** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 4:47 pm

this is my main problem with luke.

i feel like luke is trying to get as many W's as he can to prove hes better than byron.

Pythagoras · Post #12 » by **Pythagoras** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 4:49 pm

B-Scott wrote:Luke punishes the kid and he wasn't the reason we fell down by 20

First quarter last night we were in the game and he was EASILY destroying Isiah Thomas. EASY. They had a nice battle going and the game was close. Luke takes Russell out the game and we fall down by 20. How is that his fault?

Majority of his mistakes come when we're down by 20. He was playing great first quarter

Luke should be fired for allowing Nick Young to take 45 foot jump shots off the first pass. Jordan Clarkson 45 foot jumpers and Julius Randle is arguably the DUMBEST and lowest IQ Laker since Kwame Brown

We fall down 30 because of shot selection and Luke doesn't hold Randle, Young, Clarkson accountable

I haven't been the craziest about how Luke has handled Russell, but the problem is the trash on the court surrounding D'Lo more than LUke.

Luke gave D"Lo 30 minutes last night. There was still more than enough time for him to go off.

But that clown Nick Young put up 10 freaking shots in 16 minutes... On a night when he shot 30 freaking percent from the field. I'm so over that dude it's not even funny. This is why I never bought into him being "the new and improved Young" this season. The guy who plays defense and within the offense. Now that the team is committing to the youth movement and his minutes are going down, he starts gunning. His ass deserves a series of DNPs for that game.

Then there is Clarkson. Since the Lou trade, he is posting the highest usage on the team, and taking the second most shots. He's taking almost as many shots as D'Lo, despite being the substantially worse offensive player, and well over 4 more than Randle, who's also better offensively. Clarkson has become the team's Reggie Jackson. An average offensive player who's productivity doesn't justify his outrageous usage/shot attempts. He could help the team if he understood his role, but if he is taking 19 shots in a game where he is shooting 37 freaking percent from the field while D'Lo is shooting 58, he clearly doesn't! It also doesn't help him that his game is a terrible fit next to Randle and D'Lo's.

I don't agree with how Luke has managed Russell's minutes, but this team needs a dramatic makeover next year as far as putting guys around Russell who understand their role and complement his game.

B-Scott · Post #13 » by **B-Scott** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 6:24 pm

I want to see Russell get in guy's faces for bad shots. I'm not sure if he feels intimidated, but he's the PG. If Randle goes coast to coast on a 1 on 5 fastbreak let him know that was a bad play Same with Clarkson. Pass the basketball

Laker_Kid · Post #14 » by **Laker_Kid** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 6:31 pm

Russell really lacks fundemental defense. He and Clarkson are like turnstiles.

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Princeinrevolt · Post #15 » by **Princeinrevolt** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 7:24 pm

Offensively, there are only two people that can shoot the three ball on our team (D'angelo & Young). That is extremely bad. Our roster sucks, stop blaming D'angelo for everything. D'angelo had a rough night last night on the defensive end, but that was his first bad defensive game in awhile. Im actually surprised D'angelo has good stats on this team, he only has one teammate that can shoot... That is unbelievable!! D'angelo should be the least of anyone's worries from last nights game. Ingram played extremely bad defensively, repeatedly getting people to back cut him, and no one is mad about that. Julius Randle and his failure to pass the ball, Clarkson and his failure to make shots. Our team sucks, our only bright spot is D'angelo Russell, and Ivica Zubac...

And stop **** on Nick Young, yeah he was shooting some bad shots, but he is our only 3 point shooter, we need him, Luke knows that, and that's why he won't get benched. Our team needs to be able to either be a good three point shooting team, or be a good defensive team. And we have none of that. That is a sign of a really **** team. Hate on D'angelo all you want, but he is our best player by a mile and a half.

Up-And-Coming · Post #16 » by **Up-And-Coming** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 8:24 pm

I don't think Luke is being overly hard on Russell.

I think a better question is why does Luke punish Zubac. He barely plays him even if he's playing well. If he has one bad defensive lapse then he immediately takes him out. He has no problem playing Ingram all those minutes even when he's been probably the worst player in the league getting at least 28 mpg.

SashaTheMachine · Post #17 » by **SashaTheMachine** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 9:37 pm

B-Scott wrote:I want to see Russell get in guy's faces for bad shots. I'm not sure if he feels intimidated, but he's the PG. If Randle goes coast to coast on a 1 on 5 fastbreak let him know that was a bad play Same with Clarkson. Pass the basketball

I feel with him, I see a lot of this "buddy-buddy" mentality on the court, especially with opponents - just chatting with them at times, which goes back to the discussion of AAU babies. I know he has the persona of an a-hole off the court, but I want that to translate on the court as well. Be someone like Chris Paul and be a total jerk to your teammates when you need be. They're giving him the keys, he just has to take advantage.

B-Scott · Post #18 » by **B-Scott** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 9:47 pm

He seems scared to be outspoken. Maybe it's the age and he doesn't want to upset his teammates. It would be cool if he got with Chris Paul during the summer.

Kupchak9 · Post #19 » by **Kupchak9** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 10:36 pm

B-Scott wrote:He seems scared to be outspoken. Maybe it's the age and he doesn't want to upset his teammates. It would be cool if he got with Chris Paul during the summer.

Its incredibly ironic that someone who is apparently so full of himself is too timid to be outspoken. Sounds like a case of the Derrick Roses. "You played bad, I cant tell you what went wrong, but you just didnt do well."

Michael Lucky · Post #20 » by **Michael Lucky** » Sat Mar 4, 2017 11:04 pm

Kupchak9 wrote:
B-Scott wrote:He seems scared to be outspoken. Maybe it's the age and he doesn't want to upset his teammates. It would be cool if he got with Chris Paul during the summer.

Its incredibly ironic that someone who is apparently so full of himself is too timid to be outspoken. Sounds like a case of the Derrick Roses. "You played bad, I cant tell you what went wrong, but you just didnt do well."

You can be full of yourself and over confident while not trashing your own teammates.