D’Angelo Russell showed glimpses of magic throughout the season, but a big question mark remained over his consistency. On his return to the franchise, the guard hoped to have a good season but so far it has been anything but standout.
Disaster struck when they lost the opening game of play-off round one against the Denver Nuggets, leaving Russell at the center of criticism. Seeing the blames on him, NBA analyst Charles Barkley feared that he will face the same repercussions that the former players of the LA side faced.
Underscoring the Lakers’ tendency to scapegoat someone from the squad, Barkley said, “One thing you can always count on with the Lakers, they gon’ throw somebody under the bus when they lose.” To justify his opinion, Chuck further added, “Going back to Russell Westbrook, going back to Frank Vogel, now it’s D’Angelo Russell.”
The analyst called the Nuggets comparatively a better team and feels that the LA franchise should collectively take responsibility for their performance deficit. He continued to express his strong dislike for the Lakers’ pattern of pointing fingers at Russell.
Despite the Lakers having an upper hand in the opening half of Game 1, they slipped in the third quarter, which led to the 114-103 loss. While LeBron James and Anthony Davis showed a great partnership, scoring a combined 59 points, Russell chipped in 13 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Even after being one of the best shooters in the Purple and Gold, Russell only converted one basket out of the nine attempts he made from behind the 3-point range. However, in Game 2, DLo turned the tide.
D’Angelo Russell turns it up vs Nuggets despite loss
Amidst all the criticism outside the court, D’Angelo Russell displayed his brilliant shooting expertise in Game 2 at the Ball Arena on Monday. The Lakers guard started off by shooting all six deep shots on target and finished with 7-for-11 from 3-point range and 8-of-16 from the floor, bagging a total of 23 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds.
The Lakers came out stronger in the first half, taking a 15-point lead, which was soon overturned by the Denver Nuggets in the latter half. Despite leading by 20 points in the initial minutes of the third quarter, the Lakers couldn’t withstand the Nuggets’ offensive prowess and finished the night with a 99-101 loss.
The rematch between the two teams has disappointed Los Angeles fans till now. The Lakers can still make a comeback in Game 3 on their home court on Thursday and, hopefully, D’Angelo Russell can do something to avoid getting thrown under the bus like Barkley predicted.
