The Bulls are one of the better teams in the NBA at 9-5 on the season, so the Lakers' ability to hang with this talented team was encouraging. However, they will need more from key players if they are to beat Russell Westbrook and the Thunder.
D'Angelo Russell's return to the lineup after missing Friday's loss to the San Antonio Spurs with a knee injury was a positive sign, as it shows the injury likely isn't serious. However, it still affected the way he played Sunday.
“I tried to be real cautious,” he said, per the Los Angeles Times' Tania Ganguli and Jesse Dougherty. “I think I shot all threes I think. But it’s all good.”
Russell actually went 1-of-2 from inside the arc and a dreadful 2-of-9 from beyond it for eight points and seven assists. The performance was a far cry from the 32-point outburst he put up against the Brooklyn Nets last Tuesday to kick off the homestand and well below the 16.1 points per game he's averaging on the season.
The 20-year-old budding star doesn't get to the free-throw line much (2.9 free-throw attempts per game this season) and failed to get to the charity stripe at all Sunday.
Russell may have admitted the bothersome knee altered the way he played against the Bulls, but his poor shooting was consistent with his typical Sunday output this year, per Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus:
Perhaps Russell could benefit from some extra shooting work on Sunday. Head coach Luke Walton has scrapped a long-standing Sunday-morning shootaround this season, taking a page out of his former boss'...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
