Now that it’s been a few weeks since the Los Angeles Lakers’ season ended in a hotly contested sweep to the Nuggets that was decided by a total of 24 points, we can take a closer look at the team’s free agency decisions with a clearer lens devoid of what could have been.
The player who may most benefit from that clearing of the lenses is D’Angelo Russell, who had a very, very poor series against the likely (and heavily favored, just don’t tell Coach Mike Malone) champions Denver Nuggets. He was clearly targeted on the defensive end by the Nuggets’ game plan, with multiple players attacking him off the dribble and getting into his chest relentlessly, capitalizing on a combination of his foot speed and strength deficiencies.