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Brooklyn Nets veteran small forward Jared Dudley thinks the next step for starting point guard D'Angelo Russell is “valuing the ball more.”
In the playoffs, every possession matters, which means turnovers have to be avoided at all costs. Russell had four turnovers in the Nets' Game 1 win against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Dudley, who has watched Russell turn into an All-Star this season, says the lefty still has a lot of room for improvement since he's only 23-years-old.
“DLo has turned the corner even after his All-Star break being consistent,” Jared Dudley told Michael Scott of The Athletic. “He’s being more vocal before the games and talking, doing pregame speeches. I think the next step for him now is valuing the ball more. As a point guard now in the playoffs turnovers are so crucial for him. He’ll see a 6-0 run is huge in the playoffs, so him valuing the ball and you saw in that third quarter he got a little sloppy.
“We had to call a timeout and ‘hey let’s lock back in.’ For our point guard, we need that to be something that we’re not telling the point guard to do, it’s the point guard telling us. As talented as DLo is, 23, and an All-Star and all that, he’s still got a long way to go, and a lot of that is knowing the temperament of the team, controlling it, knowing the ball security and everything you need to do.”
D'Angelo Russell put up 26 points and four assists for the Nets in their Game 1 victory. He shot 10-of-25 from the field and 2-of-6 from beyond the arc.
The Nets will look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead on Monday.
