D’Angelo Russell Shines, Dropping 39 Points In Win Over Brooklyn Nets

D’Angelo Russell proved he can finally live up to the hype.

As the season progresses, D’Angelo Russell is showing everyone what he’s capable of — and if Tuesday night was any indication, he’s going to be ruthless in the near future.

Showing great signs of maturity went further than the scoreboard though, as Russell displayed the ability to play alongside Jordan Clarkson.

There was room for concern that Clarkson’s growth and surprise development would stunt, complicate, or conflict with that of Russell moving forward — but against the Nets all of those rumors become nothing more than an afterthought.

Stephen Curry gave us an incredible performance from beyond the arc a couple of nights ago in Oklahoma City against the Thunder, dropping 12 three-pointers in a record-tying performance.

Confidence emerged from Russell from very early on against Brooklyn, as the young gun from Ohio State had eight three-pointers all his own in 35 minutes of playing time.

One of the biggest takeaways from Russell’s tremendous performance is that he doubled up the next-highest scorer on the team for the evening.

Who, might you ask?

Jordan Clarkson with 16 points, of course.

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All of the starters minus Anthony Brown soared to double digits, including Roy Hibbert finding parts of his good self in a 14 point night in Los Angeles.

With the Lakers and their fan base already looking forward to what next season has in store, particularly with the excitement surrounding the high probability of landing a top draft pick, it was refreshing to see that Russell could be himself.

If nothing more, him being comfortable in his own skin is what will make or break the Lakers in the next couple of seasons.

The team went out on a limb to grab him with the second overall selection last season, and thanks to small stints of patience, that pick is starting to pay its dividends.

If you look at it from one more angle, if Russell’s growth ends up not being the best for Los Angeles next season or sometime soon, performances like what he had against the Nets will help make him better trade bait.

Not saying that something like that would happen, but you can’t rule it out considering what the Lakers were rumored to have put on the table at different points in this season.

While still a rookie, Russell has finally made a statement on the floor that he can not only play in, but dominate a slot in the starting lineup.

Next: Could Kyrie Irving Be Headed To LA?

And that should speak for itself any day of the week.