Most people tuned into the Lakers and Pelicans summer league game to check out rookies Brandon Ingram and Buddy Hield; Ingram had his moments and finished with 12 points on 5 of 9 shooting, while Hield had a hard time finding his shot and finished with 13 points on 5 of 20 shooting (1 of 8 from downtown). But 2nd year guard D'Angelo Russell stole the show and became primtime TV with a game-high 20 points (15 in the first half) on 7 of 12 shots, game-high 11 rebounds, game-high 6 assists and 3 steals.
Russell, who said he's been working on his post game this off-season, showed he learned well from Master Kobe with plays like this.
And if you go to the 55 second mark of the featured video, you can see a nice spin move and finish by Russell, which also might make you reminisce a little.
SUMMER GRIND
According the Lakers coaching staff, it seems Russell is also becoming a gym rat like Kobe was.
“D’Angelo has been great since I’ve been down here,” Said Coach Luke Walton to the LA Times earlier in the week. “He’s been at the gym every day, at least twice a day, sometimes coming back at night.
“He wants to get better and for a young point guard to have that type of open mind and be willing to come to the gym … it’s exciting for a coaching staff.”
It's going to be exciting for Lakers fans too.