Since coming to the Los Angeles Lakers in February’s Russell Westbrook trade, D’Angelo Russell has looked like the point guard they have needed all along.
He has averaged 18.5 points and 6.2 assists per game while shooting 47.9% overall and 40% from 3-point range since coming back to L.A., and the advanced stats show he has elevated the team’s level of play.
If there has been a problem with him, it’s that he has missed eight of a possible 20 games since his Lakers debut, first because of a sprained ankle and more recently due to a hip ailment.
But he returned on Wednesday and contributed a very efficient 17 points in the team’s 121-110 win over the Chicago Bulls. Afterward, he said he felt no pain in the hip that was injured.
D’Angelo Russell addresses his hip injury, return, and what it’s like playing with the #Lakers on the floor. pic.twitter.com/WRm93xrbPQ
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 30, 2023
“No pain, no pain, I just strained it. So when you strain it, it’s a little inflamed and it’s gonna hurt right then and there. I had a few days to kinda get right. I feel great. Like I said the people back there took really good care of me so I try to give them a lot of credit for that one.”
On Friday, the ninth-place Lakers will continue their road trip against the eighth-place Minnesota Timberwolves, which means Russell will face his former team in the arena he called home until nearly two months ago.
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