D’Angelo Russell thinks he can break the Lakers 3-point record again this season
After setting a franchise record for the Lakers last season, D’Angelo Russell is ready to run it back and break his own record this year.
D’Angelo Russell’s breakout season last year featured many memorable moments. Whether it was his game-winning shot against Milwaukee, his insane 3-pointer against the Warriors or his performance in the play-in game in New Orleans, Russell shined bright across the second half of the season.
The end result of that production was him setting a franchise record for 3-pointers in a single season. He finished the year with 226 makes, shattering the previous high mark of 183 makes.
The goal now? Break the record again.
During Media Day, D’Lo spoke on Spectrum SportsNet and spoke about why he thinks he can break the record again.
“I think so. Honestly, respectfully, I haven’t played in a system or structure of this caliber that he’s trying to implement. So for me, I’m super excited playing with the ball, without the ball, just playing high-level basketball. You could easily go to a team and get shipped off somewhere and you’re not playing as high-level of basketball as you were playing and you have to recalibrate that. For me to be in this position again, I’m grateful.”
This wasn’t the first time D’Lo spoke about structure during Media Day. It is clearly something that he took notice of and appreciated before training camp even started.
Is it possible that Russell can have even more success as a shooter in this new structure? It’s certainly possible.
The 226 mark was just shy of D’Lo’s career high of 234 in Brooklyn. He’s not going to be given the freedom he was with the Nets in Los Angeles, but he’s also going to be playing for a coach who really wants to get 3-pointers up.
One of the constant messages this preseason is how much Redick wants his team to shoot more threes. While he joked about wanting to shoot 50 3-pointers per game, the number he settled on, 40, is still a notable increase in attempts.
If the system he runs will create and encourage more 3-pointers, there’s no reason to believe D’Lo couldn’t be one of the beneficiaries.
The caveat here is going to be whether Russell is on the team long enough to set the mark. He’s almost certainly going to be in trade rumors again come February and, considering he’s an expiring contract this time around, they’ll likely be much more serious rumors.
If he does stick around this season, he’ll have a chance to do it again. And if he does break his record, it likely means another great season for him and, hopefully, the Lakers.
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