"You can't keep saying point guard" - D'Angelo Russell strongly asserts he is a "basketball player" with LA Lakers
D'Angelo Russell was awful in Game 2 against the Memphis Grizzlies. The LA Lakers guard spent 30 minutes on the floor, yet scored only five points on 2-for-11 shooting. Russell had a chance to make some big plays, but came up short.
It was a disappointing loss for the Lakers, who failed to take advantage of Ja Morant's absence. However, they still have homecourt advantage in the series and will play their next two games in Los Angeles.
Russell, who deserves a lot of blame for the loss, doesn't want to be referred to as a point guard. He clarified that in a postgame interview, saying that he was just a basketball player.
D'Angelo Russell is not a point guard
Standing at 6-foot-4, D'Angelo Russell certainly isn't a traditional point guard. He is a combo guard who can do a little bit of everything on the floor, but doesn't seem to be a big fan of running the floor.
The 27-year-old guard was the Lakers' starting point guard in Game 2, while Darvin Ham put Austin Reaves in the shooting guard spot.
"I'm a basketball player, you can't keep saying point guard," Russell told reporters after the game. "Basketball player with this team, not really a point guard role."
"I'm a basketball player, you can't keep saying point guard. ... Basketball player with this team, basketball player with this team, not really a point guard role."
- D’Angelo Russell 😳
(Via @SpectrumSN) https://t.co/h863lR31KX
Some Lakers fans believe that D'Angelo Russell is trying to avoid the blame with these comments. In the end, he failed to exploit Ja Morant's absence, which is why some fans blamed him.
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However, this is not exactly the case. Russell admitted that he was getting good looks throughout the game, but that he simply missed his shots. Furthermore, this is not something new. The Lakers guard said almost the same thing in 2017.
D'Angelo Russell was drafted with the second pick by the LA Lakers in 2015. In his second season, the talented guard scored a then-career-high of 40 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
At the time, his backcourt partner was Jordan Clarkson, who also stands at 6 feet and 4 inches. Here's what Russell said after his legendary scoring outburst:
"I’m a basketball player, not a point guard or a shooting guard,” Russell said.
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In that game, D'Angelo Russell was the starting shooting guard. However, this doesn't really matter in the modern NBA since teams mostly play positionless basketball.
While some fans may be reading too much into Russell's comments, the truth is that he's always been like that. Positions don't matter to him, and he doesn't want to be labeled as a point guard, shooting guard, or anything else other than a basketball player.