When the Los Angeles Lakers drafted D'Angelo Russell with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the expectation was that he would be the next Lakers star. Russell still certainly has that ability, but his rookie year hasn't gone exactly as he would have hoped. There are a variety of different factors involved in why Russell hasn't been great in his rookie season, but he feels as though he is not improving, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
The first thing to realize when talking about Russell and his "struggles" as a rookie is that not everybody can come into the league and dominate in their first year. Russell has not been bad by any means, he just hasn't been great, so naturally that has caused fans to worry about him. Russell seems to be very self-aware, at least, and knows that he definitely needs to get better.
"I still feel confident. We've just got to do something different. Something's not working, we've got to do something different as a team. We can't just keep doing the thing if it's not working. I feel like I was improving. Now I feel like it's ... not really as much," said Russell.
Many Lakers fans would probably blame Russell's recent lack of improvement on head coach Byron Scott, but it is not his fault. Scott has taken a lot of heat this season for the way he has handled Russell, but he wants him to earn more minutes, and so far it just hasn't happened. There is the argument that Scott just needs to let Russell play and make mistakes so he can learn, and that is valid, but it's not like Russell isn't getting a lot of minutes every game.
Russell isn't in the starting lineup, but he is still averaging 27 minutes per game which is more than enough. One of the major reasons why Russell doesn't see the improvement he wants to see is because he is still learning to play point guard. Russell says that he has never been a full-time point guard before, but he is confident he will learn the position and thrive in the future.
Russell has struggled with turnovers, as he leads the team with 2.4 per game, but as he plays the position more he will likely be able to quell that problem. The 6-foot-5 guard is still just 19 years old, and that is something that can get lost because he is in the NBA, playing for the Lakers, but that is important to remember. No, Russell is not having a great season, but he has still been pretty good and he knows he needs to improve, so let's not judge him too harshly until he has more time in the league, specifically at the point guard spot.
