The Los Angeles Lakers have started struggling again after qualifying for the playoffs against Memphis Grizzlies. They were in a great flow of winning games and dominating the opponents, but the flow has come to a hold. It looks like the Lakers could even lose the series if they don’t get their players in line. Ever since the trade deadline, this is the first time team has shown sluggish signs again. And everyone thinks that it is only one player who is causing all the problems in the team.
D’Angelo Russell is playing his second stint at the Lakers, and he has come back more mature. But still, he is struggling to find his place in the team because of LeBron James, as he mentions. He is a player who is good at playing ball and making things happen with the ball. And the problem is that it is a similar case for LeBron, who loves to keep the balls in his possession. Therefore the 26-year-old is finding it very difficult to perform under such circumstances. But regardless of the positional problems, he will have to give better output as a basketball player.
D’Angelo Russell Needs To Show Quality
When he came to the team, he looked happy and had a great relationship with LeBron James and Davis. At the time of his arrival, the team had completely transformed. The Lakers became the team with depth putting lesser pressure on their current players. But as time passed by and he went through some injuries, he seemed to struggle. However, a player of his quality is always expected to do better, and the more fall in the spiral, the more the pressure becomes.
It is true that the Lakers wish for the outcomes as the fans will be ruthless on them if they do not manage a home win. The Lakers lost the second game of the series despite having a clear advantage. And the way the players performed looks like they have no leg to stand on at this point. With LeBron suffering from a foot injury, he has not shown the same domination as he displayed in the earlier part of the season. Moreover, Davis has also struggled to bring the same domination after qualifying for the playoffs.
The Lakers Desperately Need Russell’s Involvement
The front office did not bring him to the team to only average 13 points in 33 minutes of the game. Russell needs to be more dynamic when he realizes that there are so many problems in the team. He himself admitted that he is a basketballer rather than just a point guard. Now he needs to play like one.
As of now, Rui Hachimura and some add-ons in the trade deadline are the only good thing going on for the team. The rest of them are struggling to keep up with the pace. Ham will have to come up with a different strategy for D’Lo otherwise, a home game loss will be a huge burden.
