28+14, James doesn't play, Mr. 52 breaks out, and the Lakers have always underestimated his ability

In today's game between the Lakers and the Trail Blazers, James chose to take a break, and the Lakers won 107-98 against the Trail Blazers. After the absence of James, the other main players of the Lakers still played a very good performance, such as Davis scored 30 points and 11 rebounds in this game, Hachimura scored 23 points, and Russell, who came off the bench, made 5 three-pointers and scored 28 points, 5 rebounds and 14 assists. Not only is he very good on the offensive end, but he also takes care of the organization on the field.

After James' absence, Russell was able to do himself again, because his possession was guaranteed. When James is on the court, it does reduce Russell's possession to a certain extent, which is inevitable. And today's game Russell is back to his previous style of playing. When Russell has the ball, he can play to his talent on the offensive end, and it also shows the consistency of his shooting from beyond the three-point line. In fact, in the current Lakers lineup, the player with the most confidence in three-point shooting is actually Russell.

Russell's offensive prowess has always been unquestionable, and he has a very rich resume to prove his offensive ability. He even scored 52 points in a single game when he was with the Warriors, averaging nearly 24 points per game in a single season. As long as he is given the ball, his offensive ability in the No. 1 position can also be ranked at the top. It's just that there are too many players in the Lakers roster who need to carry the ball, James needs to hold the ball, Rivers needs to hold the ball, and even Vincent needs to hold the ball. This severely squeezed Russell's ball-handling opportunities. Russell, on the other hand, is not good at playing without the ball in his career, and his catch-and-shoot is not very good.

I remember when he was with the Warriors, Kerr once thought that Russell's ability to play blocking and pick-and-roll was among the best in the league. So this type of player has to have the ball in his hands. Kerr knew Russell very well when he was with the Warriors, and Russell had a lot of ball in his hands. And after coming to the Lakers, especially after Redick coached the Lakers this season, it seems that Russell's offensive ability has been underestimated.

If the Lakers want to win next, they must ensure that Russell has the ball in a game. Even in comparison to Reaves, Russell should be the player with more balls. Because Reeves is far inferior to Russell in terms of the fluency of blocking and pick-and-roll, and Reeves' shooting stability is not as good as Russell's. Russell has a very good mid-range shooting ability when playing pick-and-rolls, and he can play some pick-and-rolls with Davis when James is off the court. This should be an important tactic for the Lakers on the offensive end next. I wonder what the fans think?