ONTARIO, Calif. — Scalding hot from the perimeter all night long, D’Angelo Russell was cool as could be in the locker room after dropping 33 points in 32 minutes to lead the Lakers’ 124-115 preseason victory over Denver.
For Russell, his sophomore year in the NBA is an opportunity to find an “identity,” both for himself and teammates.
Russell is aware of the criticism he received during an a self-admittedly underwhelming rookie season, and his demeanor this time around seemingly answers back against the “immature” tag that many had branded him with.
“Every weight I lift, every practice, every shot I shoot — it’s going to have a business-like approach instead of a 19-year-old kid’s approach to it,” Russell said. “I know what I want to be in this league and just want to work to be there.”
Before training camp had even begun, Russell expressed a commitment to becoming one of the team’s leaders as it moved into the post-Kobe Bryant era, trudging forward without the legend for the first time in two decades.
“We don’t want to go through losing seasons,” he said. “We don’t want to go through rebuilding as an excuse for losing. We’re rebuilding but we can still find a way to win games. We’re capable.”
And Russell has plans to be much more than capable in the future. Expectations have towered over him since he was drafted No. 2 overall by the Lakers 17 months ago.
He has embraced the challenge of being labeled a franchise-changer as a teenager, but maintains that he and his teammates still have to figure out what kind of group they can be on the court.
“The thing with us right now is we don’t have an identity,” Russell said. “Other teams have star players and glue guys — they know what they’re capable of. The same teams are showing up in the playoffs at the end of the year no matter how the season goes.
“We don’t have an identity right now, so it’s all about taking everything serious — every preseason (game), every practice, everything we do is serious. We’re really trying to identify ourselves.”
Russell said that while many teams have calling cards like scrappy play or the ability to execute, “When you say ‘the Lakers’ right now, you don’t really know.”
Perhaps it had something to do with the 124 points the Lakers piled up against the Nuggets, but Russell — emboldened in part by Luke Walton’s system which is influenced by offensively-unparalleled Golden State — suggested that the team’s identity and style could call back to arguably the organization’s most iconic era.
“We’re definitely young, so (it could be) being able to get out and run, get stops and have fun,” Russell said. “This franchise is used to Showtime and we got some exciting players, so we’re really just trying to put it together within Luke’s system and have fun at the same time and win.”
D-Lo and Lou Fire Away
The Lakers played the Nuggets just two days before at Staples Center, and Walton recalled that Russell was at first hesitant to find his own offense in that game, instead trying too hard to set up teammates.
Russell eventually started filling up the bucket, finishing with 21 points. There was no delay this time around.
The point guard provided 16 points in the first quarter alone, eventually concluding with 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting with four 3-pointers, three assists and three steals.
“Whenever he’s having that type of night, I’m going to encourage him to stay that aggressive and keep shooting it,” Walton said. “There are times when he even still got his teammates involved even though he was hot, which is what we keep trying to stress to him.”
Los Angeles led by a dozen early in the second quarter, but the Nuggets managed to tie it up at halftime. From there, Denver showed off its own offense, even taking a seven-point advantage in the third before an L.A. run tied the game once again heading to the fourth.
Russell and Lou Williams took over from there.
The Lakers were down by four with seven minutes remaining when Williams — who finished with 25 points — knocked down a 3-pointer that signaled the end of Denver’s chances.
The second-year Laker was a one-man offense, scoring the Lakers’ next 15 points thanks to three triples, a mid-range pull-up, a layup and two free throws. By the time the surge was over, the Nuggets had four minutes to turn around a 108-102 deficit.
That wouldn’t happen, as Nick Young and Julius Randle brought the lead back up to double digits and Russell iced it by hitting two 3-pointers in one minute, to the frenzy of the Ontario crowd.
“When you’re out and running, everybody gets shots,” Walton said. “So it’s fun for everyone.”
Though just an exhibition, it was nonetheless a competitive victory over a Denver squad that owned a 54-29 rebounding advantage, attempted 45 free throws and had seven players score double figures — led by Jusuf Nurkic's 21-point, 16-rebound night.
Ironically in a game when his team allowed 115 points, Walton pointed to defense as key, including that of Young, who had been labeled as a subpar defender throughout his nine-year NBA career.
But “Swaggy P” — who tallied 14 points, four rebounds and two steals while starting for the injured Luol Deng — held his own on that end, though he joked that his age might rule out putting his body in jeopardy in the name of defense.
“It’s tough to get up from charges,” Young said, laughing. “I’m Uncle P now. He don’t fall too much.”
Notes
Randle finished with 16 points, four rebounds and a team-high five assists. … Russell scored 54 points in 56 minutes during L.A.’s back-to-back against Denver this weekend. … The Lakers shot 53.1 percent, including 14-of-28 on 3-pointers. … Nikola Jokic, Wilson Chandler and Jameer Nelson all rested for the Nuggets. … A crowd of 8,389 attended at Citizens Business Bank Arena.