One of the reasons the Los Angeles Lakers are on a four-game losing streak and have lost five of their last six games has been the poor play of starting guard D’Angelo Russell.
In the first 20 games of the season, he played excellent ball, averaging 17.6 points and 6.6 assists a game while shooting 49.1% overall and 41.8% from 3-point range. But lately, he has been about as cold as a medical-grade freezer.
In the month of December, he’s shooting just 37.5% from the field and 27.5% from downtown. In Thursday’s loss at the Minnesota Timberwolves, he shot 7-of-19, but he missed 10 of his first 12 shots before finally finding a rhythm in the fourth quarter.
When asked about his struggles, he said he simply has to play better.
“I’ve just gotta be better… No excuse for that.” D'Angelo Russell on his recent shooting slump. pic.twitter.com/DxuCyePrI9
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 22, 2023
Russell did go 5-of-8 in the fourth quarter, which included two 3-pointers. The hope is the rhythm he showed during that span will carry over to Saturday’s game versus the Oklahoma City Thunder and help him return to the level of play he was at in November.