D’Angelo Russell spoke on the new-look Lakers under JJ Redick during his media day interview. While talking about how the team looks heading into the new season, he seemed to take a dig at former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, claiming that the Lakers had no defensive structure under Ham.
“I do too, but you know how that goes. I think, last year, we didn’t really have the structure defensively that we needed as a team. And that kind of hurt me a little bit, trying to help my team. Like I said, JJ is trying to push structure everywhere and implement it everywhere…”
The Lakers were bang average as a defensive team last year, ranking 16th in the NBA with a defensive rating of 115.3. While players like Anthony Davis, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Rui Hachimura have been defensively astute for the Lakers, some stars, including D’Angelo Russell, did not play very well on the defensive end.
The Lakers’ last run to the NBA championship was built on their defensive ability. While Anthony Davis was a Defensive Player of the Year candidate that year, the rest of the Lakers were also playing at a high level defensively, which allowed them to beat the rest of the NBA en route to the title.
This season, the unknown commodity that is JJ Redick will be put to the test, and his ability to coach this team, both on the offensive and defensive end of the court will be tested greatly. With the Western Conference being as stacked as ever, the Lakers will need to be a good defensive team to do well in their hunt for a playoff spot.
D’Angelo Russell Has Connected Well With JJ Redick
During his media day press conference, D’Angelo Russell spoke about the relationship he has formed with JJ Redick ahead of the new NBA season. He noted that he and Redick have spoken a lot during the offseason, and have formed a strong relationship that he looks forward to seeing evolve on the court next season.
“We just kind of hit it off… Very high IQ guy basketball-wise and just personally. I think I gravitated to him right away.”
Russell basically confirmed much of what JJ Redick had said in an interview last week, noting that he had spoken to D’Lo the most during the offseason. Russell, who is entering the final year of his contract, will be looking to have a career year to ensure his stint in the NBA continues.
D’Angelo Russell had a decent season last year by the numbers, averaging 18.0 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.1 rebounds. But when you look at his performance in the key moments, like the playoffs, it tells a different story.
In the 5 playoff games he played in, Russell’s production went down drastically, as he averaged 14.2 points, 4.2 assists, and 2.8 rebounds against the Nuggets.
Redick has a heck of a challenge on his hands as the new coach of the Lakers. Redick, who has never had any kind of coaching job in his career, must now take on one of the most difficult jobs in the NBA, not just in terms of coaching, but also in terms of the media spotlight that comes with the job.
Redick will need his role players like D’Angelo Russell, along with several others to play at the highest level possible if the Lakers stand any chance to have a winning season.
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