Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton does not lack belief on his players. After only seeing his team play two preseason games, he has already given high praises to some of them, along with forecasts on how he thinks they will fare this year.
One of them is on second-year point guard, D'Angelo Rusell.
After his dismal performance against the Sacramento Kings wherein he criticized his own game, the Ohio State product bounced back with 21 points against the Denver Nuggets on Friday. After his big game, Walton spoke to Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News and discussed how many points he thinks last year's second overall pick will average this season.
“I don’t think he goes out and hunts them,” Walton said of Russell. “As a point guard, he’s got a lot more responsibilities than just getting his average. But he has the ability and skill to average 20 points a game.”
Scoring that amount of points on a nightly basis is a tall order, but with the young Lakers squad who just lost Kobe Bryant to retirement, the shots are expected to be distributed until a go-to-guy emerges. Russell talked about that and how his role as a point guard can impact his team.
“With this team, it’s anybody’s night. But as a point guard, I definitely want to be the main factor as far as getting guys involved and dominating the game, if the ball is in my hands or it isn’t in my hands. I can dominate the game in different aspects.”
With his mindset of wanting to help his teammates improve, it certainly says a lot on how much he has matured since his rookie year. Entering what is considered as a rebuilding phase, the Lakers expect a lot from the 20-year-old as he is already being groomed to be one of the leaders of the storied franchise for years to come.
It all starts this year, and whether or not Walton's claim holds true is anybody's guess at this point, but it will be something worth monitoring as the season progresses.
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