Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell destroyed for freezing cold take, Game 3 bench antics

Well that was quick. Only a couple days passed before fans rushed to retrieve their pitch forks, the ones usually reserved for Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell. He was spared their wrath following an impressive Game 2 performance (23 points, seven made 3-pointers), but that goodwill has already been displaced by a deluge of condemnation after a brutal Game 3.

Russell was scoreless in the Lakers’ 112-105 home loss to the Denver Nuggets Thursday night, shooting 0-of-7 from the field. While he did record one steal and one block, there is no way to sugarcoat this massive stumble on the big stage. The poor outing comes after the former All-Star made a bold proclamation in the aftermath of Game 2 and in the lead-up to this contest.

“I’ve been dominating the season all year,” Russell told Ros Gold-Onwude, via SiriusXM NBA Radio. “So for me to have a game off when everybody’s watching, of course it’s going to be magnified. You see what I did the second game and I’m looking forward to doing it the third game.”

The 28-year-old has done a nice job of rising above the criticism throughout his LA tenure, but it seems strange to pat yourself on the back when your team is down 2-0 in a postseasons series. Moreover, he cannot stick his chest out like that and then proceed to disappear in a must-win matchup in the Crypto.com Arena.

D’Angelo Russell continues to be inconsistent in the playoffs and scuffle against the Nuggets, putting forth two costly stat lines in the first three games. It gets worse, though.

D’Angelo Russell does not look engaged in Lakers huddle

That aforementioned strong mentality appeared to be absent towards the end of Thursday’s contest, as Russell was seemingly preoccupied with his cell phone on the far end of the bench during a timeout huddle with less than four minutes remaining on the clock.

Regardless of any explanation he or his teammates offer up in defense, this player cannot afford any bad optics on a night when he failed to deliver. The Lakers are in a historically insurmountable hole, trailing 3-0 versus the defending NBA champions. And D’Angelo Russell is under more scrutiny than ever before.

The media unleashed their fangs on Friday.