LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have had a tough go of it since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament in early December. The Lakers now sit a game under .500 at 19-20 following Thursday evening's demolition at the hands of the Phoenix Suns despite James continuing to play elite basketball at the age of 39.

One player who is not so concerned about the Lakers' struggles is point guard D'Angelo Russell, who has moved into a bench role this season after rejoining the franchise via trade midway through the 2022-23 campaign.

“I think we’re team that’s still trying to figure things out,” said Russell, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “We’re still mixing and matching lineups, finishing groups, starting groups. So, we’re still figuring it out. So, I wouldn’t say panic, or anything like that. Last year was a prime example of this team not being where they wanted to be and we had some new energy, new vibes and it kind of made … it got us to where we ended off last year. “So, I think we can still find the light at the end of the tunnel. We just got to get better, got to keep getting better.”

Indeed, the Lakers did need more than half a season of struggling last year before they finally pieced things together and made a run to the Conference Finals. Still, that doesn't take away from the frustration of the present moment, as the schedule doesn't figure to get any easier in the coming weeks for Los Angeles.