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D'Angelo Russell scored a career-high 44 points in the massive Brooklyn win of 28 points against Sacramento on Tuesday night. He orchestrated both the Nets' biggest win and the fourth-best quarterback in franchise history. These are two huge achievements in themselves.
But especially for Russell, 16 of his 44 points were obtained by attempts of failure and attempts to shoot within six feet of the rim. If there is anything to remember from his career night, it is that he can break a defense and get shot hard, rather than being a shooter. ;elite.
It's a feat, because Russell has not done much this season. The Brooklyn star team only scored 116 goals in less than five feet or less per year. This ranks him lower than the guards who play fewer minutes and fewer roles, like Allonzo Trier in New York, John Wall in Washington – who has not played since Boxing Day – Dwyane Wade, 37, and Jordan Clarkson in Cleveland.
In total, there are 44 guards with more goals scored within five feet of Russell. Two of his guards are his teammates: Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris.
The Sacramento defense helped Russell do it. They award about 52 points to paint per game, the second-highest league total behind Phoenix. This means that you, the reader, could probably put you in lace and get a rug for the Kings tomorrow night.
But the points in the painting, for the guards, mean something else. This means that the guard was able to break the defense.
Russell has never been known to be a downhill attack guard. He made up for that by hitting 3 seconds at an alarming rate. Against Sacramento, he landed his 202nd tripling of the year, the largest number of the history of a single season of the Nets. Earlier this season, he became the youngest player to reach 500 trios, a record held until Devin Booker caught him in early March.
Brooklyn completes Russell's skills with better penetrators. Dinwiddie is an implacable rim striker who has the speed to get caught by his man on a whim. Caris LeVert broke the defenses as he pleased before getting injured in the leg earlier in the season. In a way, Harris has become one of the best finishers in the NBA because of the threat of his rider.
Russell has never shown this kind of ability to get to the rack at will. In part, it's because he does not have to be there, but he's not the fastest goalie in the NBA. The speed of Russell's foot is certainly not comparable to that of De'Aaron Fox, Dennis Schroder or Russell Westbrook. It's just not in his DNA, and it prevents him from getting around some of the league's hottest defenders.
But that was not the case when Brooklyn returned from Sacramento. Russell is known to have ice in his veins when the game is in play, and he tends to freeze the defense by overturning three players against whom he still does not expect him to shoot. Now he shows that he can freeze the defenders and reach the edge too.
If this is part of Russell's game that the league has not seen yet, it's an extra layer for a young player who becomes more and more dangerous by the week.
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