Russell fell into a serious slump.
The Los Angeles Lakers lost 108-119 to the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs Conference Finals held at the Los Angeles Crypto.com Arena on the 21st (hereinafter Korean time).
The Lakers, who suffered three consecutive losses, were driven to the brink. Never in the history of the NBA playoffs has a team been able to turn around after losing all three games. It’s a situation where you have to challenge the impossible.
The monstrous Nicola Jokic was somewhat sluggish compared to the previous game due to the aftermath of foul trouble, and Anthony Davis showed a tremendous presence. But the Lakers’ road to victory was rough again this time.
Being pushed in the point guard fight was fatal. In this series, Denver’s Jamal Murray, who is flying wildly, poured out 37 points in Game 3, while Lakers’ starting point guard, D’Angelo Russell, only scored 3 points.
Russell had his ups and downs, but his performance up to the second round was better than last season’s playoffs. Russell, who exploded properly, was clearly a tough player to stop.
However, in the conference finals, Russell’s influence is rapidly declining. Eventually, in the third game, after failing 7 out of 8 field goals, he only played 20 minutes and lowered his head. The turnovers (3) coming out of the close match were also disappointing. Bench resource Dennis Schroeder (25 minutes) played more minutes than Russell.
The Lakers, who were evaluated as being behind No. 1 seed Denver in terms of objective power. That’s why Russell’s sluggishness in this series is very painful. Until the third game, Russell had an average of 7.0 points, 29.6% field goal rate, and 14.3% 3-point success rate. It is hard to believe that he was a guard who was once selected as an All-Star.
Coach Davin Hamm encouraged Russell before the second game, saying, “I have strong faith in D’Angelo Russell. I expect him to come out and play a big role,” but he is not responding. In the end, let his sluggishness get longer, Russell was excluded from the winning lineup again.
Russell is about to obtain free agency qualification after this season. In an interview, he expressed a positive stance on staying with the Lakers.
However,먹튀검증 the Lakers are already worried about Russell’s retention due to the tight salary cap. If this sluggishness continues, it will inevitably have a negative impact on contract renewal negotiations. Besides, this season isn’t the first time Russell’s playoff slump has occurred. This is Russell, who has consistently left regrets in the playoffs since his Brooklyn days.