I've only been sayin' all these things all season long...ISIAH_THOMAS wrote:D’Angelo Russell
It’s easy to see how D’Angelo Russell is one of the most talented players in this draft class, and the ability to pull up from anywhere on the court puts so much pressure on a defense. That, combined with his incredible passing skills, makes it easy to fall in love with Russell’s potential.
But I do think Russell is a riskier prospect than some make him out to be.
Concerns about Russell’s athleticism have been front and center pretty much all year, and they’re legitimate concerns. He’s a below the rim player without a great burst with the ball in his hands.
He compounds this by having a sorely underdeveloped right hand. This is most evident when finishing at the rim, when Russell avoids using his right hand almost at all costs, even in situations when using his left hand brings him right into the path of a shot blocker, or gives him an awkward attempt with a poor angle. It’s not just the ineffectiveness of his right hand, it’s also his unwillingness to even attempt to use it.
That underdeveloped right hand shows up in his ball handling as well. Russell will, at times, go right, but it’s almost always to setup a crossover back to his left. When the defense keys on taking away his ability to go back left the result was usually Russell settling for a bad shot.
The end result was Russell struggling to turn the corner against elite defenders. How he’ll do against the long, athletic defenders in the NBA? It’s a very real concern of mine. I’ve referenced the table below numerous times in the past, but the fact that Russell shot only 40.4% from two point range against top-100 defenses concerns me greatly, at least when I’m trying to project an elite scorer in the NBA.
Competition Record Mins/g Points/g FG% 3PT% 2PT% Assists/g TO/g
Top 100 8-9 35.6 17.7 37.9 34.8 40.4 4.4 3
Outside of top 100 16-2 32.4 20.8 52.2 47.4 56.4 5.6 2.8
But while OSU’s deficiencies absolutely played a part in Russell’s struggles against good defenders, it’s hard for me to get those fears out of my head when his own deficiencies — weak right hand, average athleticism, lack of explosion around the hoop — were very big contributing factors in Russell becoming one dimensional against the elite competition.
(One final thing: can we please stop the James Harden comparisons? It’s impossible to compare a guy who got to the line at an elite clip with a guy who is average at getting to the line. Russell’s 30.3% free throw rate isn’t a great indicator for a guard that’s a top pick in the draft, and is a very, very, very, big difference from Harden’s 60.2% rate as a freshman, something that has been a crucial part of his success in the NBA).
Player Free Throw Rate (FTA/FGA)
D'Angelo Russell 30.3%
James Harden (freshman) 60.2%
Did this writer have any articles on the other guys? (Found it...)
Link...Likes: D’Angelo Russell
Spacing. Spacing. Spacing. Spacing.
It’s going to become the most popular word in Sixers basketball over the next year, and with good reason. Spacing, in general, is extremely important in the NBA, almost regardless of what players, or what philosophy, your offense is built around. Add in the potential of having one of your top offensive options operate in the post and spacing becomes downright crucial.
That need for spacing, and the sudden realization that 3 points are more valuable than 2, has led to a premium on three point shooting. Back in 2004-05 teams averaged 5.6 made three pointers per game. That jumped to 7.8 per game this past season, a 40% increase in made three’s per game. The overall efficiency is about the same, with the league connecting on 35.6% of them in 2004-05 and 35.0% in 2014-15, but the volume has increased dramatically.
There’s no better way to space the floor than to have a ball handler who is a threat to pull up from anywhere on the floor, and Russell is exactly that. Russell shot 42% on shots beyond 24′, which would be a three pointer from anywhere on an NBA court. He shot 42% from beyond 26′, for that matter. His range is incredible.
He’s also a very good shooter off the pick and roll, in large part because of his incredible ability to shoot off the dribble. Only one player in all of college basketball attempted more jump shots off the dribble than Russell did while doing so more efficiently.
That combination of 25’+ range, along with his elite ability to shoot off the dribble (and do so quickly), along with his creativity passing the ball off the pick and roll, should combine to create a really good pick and roll combination with Joel Embiid, and give defenses absolute fits when deciding where to shift their defensive focus.
This is all part of the reason why I believe that not only is D’Angelo Russell the right fit for the Sixers, but that the Sixers are the right fit for Russell. Russell’s threat on the perimeter will open things up for Embiid, both down low on the block and when diving to the hoop off the pick and roll. But the attention Embiid will receive will also open things up for Russell. Can Russell become a high-volume isolation threat who can finish efficienctly at the rim? I think there’s legitimate concern. But I think the Sixers are the right spot to mitigate that risk and exploit his very legitimate strengths.
