D’Angelo Russell has had quite a few poor performances in the playoffs. Those poor performances have become part of his reputation as a player who does well in the regular season but not in the postseason.
But Game 3 versus the Denver Nuggets on Thursday was perhaps his worst playoff game ever.
He missed all seven of his shot attempts, six of which came from 3-point range, and he went scoreless. He was a major reason the Los Angeles Lakers blew yet another double-digit lead and lost, 112-105, to the Nuggets, putting them on the brink of getting swept.
At one point in Game 3, the fans at Crypto.com Arena booed Russell after he missed a wide-open trey. Even worse, he was seen not participating in a team huddle while on the bench.
D’Lo refusing to take part in the huddle now. https://t.co/GjGz17ZNp0 pic.twitter.com/rRL39WSK5z
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) April 26, 2024
Russell had to deal with incessant trade rumors at midseason while he was going through a bad shooting slump. He can opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer, and one has to wonder if he could become a castaway due to his poor play in this series, as well as his poor play in last year’s Western Conference finals when L.A. were swept by Denver.
