[ad_1]
To this day, most NBA fans have come to the idea that D'angelo Russell could be a good player. But there are still some who find it hard to believe that the Nets' fourth-year guard has evolved past his ball-in days in a Lakers uniform and uses his old habits to judge his current playing style.
Eric Collins, one of Hornets' broadcasters, is one of them. In the third quarter of the Hornets-Nets game on Saturday, the ball made its way to Russell, who dropped his defender, Kemba Walker, while he was more or less still in a triple threat position with seven seconds to do at the stopwatch. It was about three seconds before Russell decided to do anything with the ball, which Collins said:[the] the ball sometimes just stops with Russell. As Collins finished his sentence, Russell's three others had already entered.
It was that kind of evening for Russell, who celebrated his 23rd birthday with an impressive 40-point performance at Charlotte. While shots on goal caused a delay, especially in the second half, but there was a slight bit of disrespect when it came to his defensive missions at times. For example, in two consecutive acquisitions, Russell ended up having Cody Zeller as a defender. The Hornets have not done much, if anything, to try to stop this switch, so he took advantage.
But then, Russell sat down and the Nets' offense did not allow anything close to the production that their All-Star guard was producing. The Hornets were able to gain enough momentum during his rest period, which allowed them, even when Russell returned, not only to erase what was once a 19-point deficit, but also to maintain an eight-point lead. points and that there was only 3:12 left to do. in the game.
While two free throws by Joe Harris reduced the deficit of the Nets to six, the attack of the team gave rise to something. If Collins had not watched the whole game, he would have called it stagnant and he would be technically right to do it. Every possession in Brooklyn, the ball would come back to Russell's hands and stay there for a good part of the shooting clock. But just as the last time such a comment was made, the legitimacy of the criticism began to fade once the ball went into the goal, and it collapsed completely. in the nothing thanks to the 12 consecutive points that Russell would score in the final. few minutes of the match.
The wild race featured almost everything one could expect from a star basketball player when needed, but it had become apparent that it would be impossible to stop Russell if no matter what happened. in the basket.
By the time Russell reached his decisive goals in less than a minute, Collins could not even contain his enthusiasm.
After years of being one of the league's most successful franchises, the Nets are finally starting to push back their opponents and make noise as a legitimate playoff team. Any team that drops their guard against them will be overthrown by the offensive equivalent of being hit in the mouth. If a guard was ready to lead a team like this, whose history of redemption on the ground almost mirrors that situation, it's Russell and games like these show why.
[ad_2]
Source link