Brooklyn Nets: D’Angelo Russell finally living up to his true potential

Russell is enjoying a campaign where he’s seen a career high in points per night, assists, and minutes per game for the Brooklyn Nets

It’s taken some time for D’Angelo Russell to really get into a groove at the NBA level, but it’s finally looking like he is living up to the hype that has followed him as the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft out of Ohio State.

Russell is the Brooklyn Nets leading scorer this season, playing a career-high 29.7 minutes per game while averaging 18.7 points per night. The 22-year-old guard has also collected 6.3 assists per game this season, setting a career high in that category as well. Last season he averaged just 5.2 assists per contest.

Russell was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Nets in June of 2017 along with Timofey Mozgov, and it was honestly the best thing that could have happened to him.

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With the Lakers, he still averaged a decent amount of points per game, but he wasn’t the main facilitator. There were tons of young guys who would all share playing time, and even though he played 25+ minutes per night, he wasn’t the one who would have the ball in his hands in pressure situations. With the Nets, that has been the case. He always has the rock with the game on the line.

This year he’s been on another level

Russell is Brooklyn’s go-to scorer, and ever since he’s come to New York, he has been dripping confidence and it’s really showed in the way he’s played, especially this season. He is their best player and a vital reason they’re only one game under .500 as they sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

Since the new year, the 22-year-old is averaging 22.7 points a game and 7.6 assists as his team have won five of their seven games in 2019 so far. Russell is showing a lot more courage and belief in himself to shoot the 3-pointer this season. He’s attempting seven 3’s a game for a career-high 36.4 3-point percentage.

In January, he’s shot 40 percent from downtown, including a breakout performance on Monday night in a win over the Celtics where he dropped seven of 13 attempts from deep. The 6-foot-5 guard ended up scoring 34 points, registering his sixth 30-point game of the season.

Russell has really improved his game as a distributor as well. The fourth-year guard is really learning how to be a great playmaker along with an elite scorer, showing the ability to thread a needle with a pass in the lane or find a teammate in a better spot for an open look out on the perimeter.

On the defensive end, Russell is also enjoying a career-best 106.5 defensive rating, compared to last year’s 110.9. He’s slowly turning into a more complete two-way point guard.

But for now, he continues to dazzle on the offensive end, which is where they really need to see production from him.

A change of scenery has been best for Russell

Russell has been in a Nets uniform for a year and a half now, but it wasn’t until the tail end of last season where he really started to show his true talent. This season, he has been on full beast mode and has led Brooklyn to a fairly respectable start at 22-23 considering they won just 28 games all of last year.

The difference that’s been clear is his confidence. Russell has total belief in what he can do on the court and that is half the battle at this level. He was a second overall pick for a reason, the potential has always been there. It was just a matter of time until it burst through and showed its true colors. This season has absolutely been his breakout year.

If D’Angelo Russell can continue to play at this elite level, he could take the Brooklyn Nets into the playoffs come April. With Brooklyn’s second-leading scorer in Caris LeVert returning from injury very soon, the Nets will have another premier talent to play alongside Russell as they look to be a contender this season.