Before the 2023–24 season, Los Angeles Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell wants to strengthen an area of his game that has received less attention. Following the team’s long playoff run in 2023, Russell resigned from Los Angeles this past summer. The Lakers are now hopeful that Russell can strengthen his defense to assist support their outstanding offensive lineup.

Russell is now admitting that his previous defensive shortcomings affected how much time he spent playing during the playoffs the previous year.

“I guess they got me off the floor by not playing defense last year,” Russell remarked, as reported by Jesse Cinquini of Lakers Daily. Thus, make an effort to disprove it and avoid providing them with an excuse to keep me off the floor. Try not to be a liability on defense and try to be as dangerous as I can be on offense.

D’Angelo Russell has never had trouble scoring baskets with the basketball. The former Ohio State Buckeye has been able to establish his own offense and keep opponents honest with his outside shooting abilities ever since he was selected by the Lakers in the 2015 NBA Draft and throughout his subsequent appearances in the league before rejoining the Lakers.

Although he is by no means a traffic cone when it comes to defense, opponents made advantage of his weaknesses, particularly in the Lakers’ Western Conference Finals defeat to the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers could be even more dangerous coming into this season if Russell fulfills his vow to get better.