The Los Angeles Lakers were already facing an uphill battle on Thursday night, as they went into the second night of a back-to-back against the team with the best record in the Western Conference, the Minnesota Timberwolves, without the services of LeBron James. James' absence meant that there would be trickle-down effect on the roster in terms of responsibility, with D'Angelo Russell being one of the players tasked to help fill in the King's big shoes.

Alas, Russell didn't have the best of games for the Lakers, against his old team in the Timberwolves, no less. He shot poorly from the field, missing 12 of his 19 shot attempts on the night, and to top it all off, he didn't exactly put in a quality shift on the defensive end either, his defensive stats on the night notwithstanding.

Nevertheless, D'Angelo Russell didn't appear to show the least bit remorse with his latest subpar defensive outing against the Timberwolves, as evidenced by his words in the postgame presser.

“That's where I try to be better, but that's not what I do,” Russell said following the Lakers' 118-111 defeat to the Timberwolves, per Lakers Daily on Twitter (X).

D'Angelo Russell isn't exactly known for his defense, so that may be his point. It's not like the Lakers gave him a huge role on the team based on his work on that end of the floor. However, as a point guard, it's up to Russell to help contain dribble penetration, and against the Timberwolves, he was a defensive sieve.

Now, some Lakers fans pointed out that Russell appears to be backtracking on his previous statement that he's trying to emulate Derrick White's impact for the Celtics.

“Went from I wanna be Derrick White to ‘that’s not what I do',” one fan wrote.

Some fans, however, were more level-headed. They know that at this point in his career, D'Angelo Russell won't be a lockdown defender, and this is just the Lakers guard being aware of his own limitations.

“People will read into this way too much instead of actually look at his actions. He knows what his strengths and weaknesses are, and he’s gotten considerable more impactful on the defensive end,” another fan expressed.

Now, D'Angelo Russell just has to turn up on the offensive end so he can avoid the criticism that comes with the lackluster defense he usually provides for the Lakers.