The Los Angeles Lakers are on a roll! Hosting the Toronto Raptors tonight, the Lakers got a huge boost as D’Angelo Russell made his way back to the team. In his third game back with the Lakers since the trade, D’Lo sprained his ankle as they played the Warriors.
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This kept him sidelined for the past six games. However, the Lakers went 4-2 in that span, and climbed up to the 9th seed. Tonight, DLo announced his return in a bold fashion. He scored 28 points, had nine assists, five rebounds, and shot 5 of 8 from the deep.
After the game, Russell announced the Lakers’ return to their glory and sent out a warning to the rest of the league.
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D’Angelo Russell warns the NBA about the Lakers
The Lakers recorded their third straight win tonight, as they beat the Raptors 122-112. A big part of that win was the incredible showing by D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves in the 4th quarter. After the win, DLo was excited to talk in the post-game interview.
Speaking to the reporter, Russell said, “They lucky I sprained my ankle. I was ready to go crazy!” He then went on to credit Anthony Davis for holding down the fort while he was gone and how the team had his back tonight as AD had an off game.
DLo then shared his goal for the Lakers, which is to bring back fun to the organization.
Tonight was a good win for the team, and they’d hope to use this to create momentum as they head to the final 15 games of the season.
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Can DLo be the difference-maker for the Lakers?
So far, we’ve seen the new Big 3 of the Lakers – LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and D’Angelo Russell just play one game together(they did start together in the game against the Warriors as well, but DLo was out within the first few minutes, so I won’t count that). In that one game, the trio looked quite good together, registering a win over the Pelicans.
However, if they want to make a playoff run, the Lakers need LeBron back and for the team to get used to playing with LBJ on the floor with them. LBJ has a 33.2 usage rate when he plays, but he usually was playing with AD out.
With DLo in the team, Bron will have fewer play-making duties and can be the scorer the Lakers need. Whether or not DLo makes a difference depends on how the next 15 games go. Judging from the current sample size, we may see the Lakers in the post season after two years of being out.
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