Could the time for D'Angelo Russell to shine be now?
The Los Angeles Lakers rookie has been in the sports headlines but mostly because many are left puzzled at why this year's second overall top draft pick has been spending more time on the bench than on the floor.
Head coach Byron Scott has gotten the brunt of that criticism and has, apparently, stood pat on his decision until perhaps recently. Why? Well, considering that Kobe Bryant has made his retirement official, the time for Scott to look at his younger resources needs to start now.
With Russell, Scott has to see quickly if he is indeed the right player to inherit the playmaking chores. Jordan Clarkson is still around but the thing is the Fil-American player could be better off playing the position that Bryant will soon be vacating.
Russell showed National Basketball Association (NBA) fans a sample of that against the Atlanta Hawks, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds with four assists in 36 minutes of action. But there was also a glaring stat that many took notice of, and that was the seven turnovers he registered.
So in all, Russell is a brilliant player but his errors need to be minimized moving forward. Nonetheless, such is only normal for a young player like him who is still trying to get his feet wet, and the only way to correct all that is through exposure and guidance.
Russell is believed to be one of the two best point guards in the 2015 NBA Draft, with Emmanuel Mudiay being the other one. Of the two, Mudiay has been the one showing the reason why he's one of the better guards from the NBA Draft, mainly because he has been utilized and given the confidence by Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone.
With the Lakers hardly making any progress, maybe Scott could do the same and take the risk on Russell. At this point, he hardly has anything to lose by shaping up the young rookie playmaker.
