D’Angelo Russell has turned into a sniper three-point shooter this season and he has revealed the difference-maker with his shooting.
In his ninth season in the league, Russell is enjoying a career-best 42.3 percent hit rate from three.
His catching-and-shooting has been noticeably better and NBA reporter Michael Corvo noticed during a Lakers practice recently that Russell was asking the trainer to give him deliberately bad passes during catch-and-shoot drills.
So, is this what helped elevate his three-point shooting this season?
“Once I realized I’m not gonna get any better as an individual basketball player,” Russell told Corvo. “Eight to 10 years in the league, I’ve learned where my shots are gonna come. When I watch countless amount of film, I see what shots I don’t get.
“I try to just harp on things that I can control and where I see my shots. And I see me getting tough passes, and there’s a sense of me, in that moment, saying that ‘you can still shoot it.’ Or, ‘Yeah, that pass wasn’t good,’ but that distraction forces you not to shoot it or decide to shoot a tough one.”
The method seems to working, since Russell is converting 44.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot triples.
“When I get it, if it’s a good pass or bad pass, I’m already — it feels comfortable, cause I practice on bad passes,” Russell added. “A lot of shooters would want the seams and all that lined up. But I know I can catch and shoot, and I know I can shoot off the dribble. When I’m shooting off the dribble, the seams are never really right. You kinda have to lean into it with your body and trust it. I’m trusting the most upright confidence that I could have right now. So it’s working for me.”
In the Lakers’ 136-105 win over the Hawks on Monday, Russell tied the record for most triples in a season (183) – a record set by Nick Van Exel in 1994-95.
He will look to break the record on Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
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