Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell has shot under 50 percent from the field in each of his first 13 career playoff games
The Lakers battled back in the second half of Game 2 last night vs the Grizzlies but lost 103-93 in the end. Two of their five starters finished with less than ten points last night and one of them was D’Angelo Russell. Throughout his postseason career, Russell has struggled to shoot the ball efficiently. He’s shot under 50 percent from the field in each of his first 13 playoff games and is looking to break that streak.
Last night he finished with five points, seven rebounds, and four assists. The one-time all-star shot 2-11 from the field and 1-5 from deep in LA’s Game 2 loss. After the game, he spoke with the media and was indifferent to what his role is with this Lakers team. You could tell Russell was aggravated by his poor performance where he scored just five points.
Games 3 and 4 will be back in LA and hopefully, Russell can find some comfort playing on their home court. NBA betting sites have the Lakers at (-205) to win Game 3 at home on Saturday night.
“I’m a basketball player, you can’t keep saying point guard… Basketball player with this team, basketball player with this team, not really a point guard role.”
– D’Angelo Russell on his role with the Lakers 🤔
(via @SpectrumSN)pic.twitter.com/G2N0Zer48J
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 20, 2023
D’Angelo Russell was clearly frustrated last night after scoring just five points in the Lakers’ loss
The 27-year-old is in his eighth season as a pro but had limited playoff experience coming into their first-round matchup vs the Grizzlies. Russell has played in five playoff games with the Brooklyn Nets in 2018-19 and then six games with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2021-22. After two more games with the Lakers this year, Russell has shot under 50 percent from the field in each of his first 13 playoff games.
His best field-goal percentage in the playoffs came in 2018-19 when he shot (.359) from the field. That is still extremely low and those numbers have not gotten better since. He’s shooting a horrific (.321) from the field and (.286) from beyond the arc. Both are career lows for him in the playoffs.
Russell will surely be looking to put his poor performance in Game 2 behind him. The Lakers will be back home on Saturday in Game 3 and maybe Russell will have the best playoff game of his career to silence all the doubters.
Source: Basketball Insider
