Some shooters in the NBA have the “green light” to keep jacking up shots. Lakers star D’Angelo Russell has been given the “green room” by his coach, Darvin Ham.
After Russell’s 27-point performance against the Hawks on Monday night, Ham granted the guard the freedom to keep shooting without a conscience.
“He’s hands down the best shooter on our team,” Ham said of Russell. “I want him to be aggressive from the three-point line as much as possible. His prowess from the three-point line, it’s really, really elite. And we need every bit of it.”
“He has a green room,” Ham added. “Not a green light. A green room.”
By making six of his 10 threes Monday, Russell tied Nick Van Exel’s franchise record for threes in a season with 183. While Van Excel needed 80 games to reach the milestone, Russell has done so in his 64th game. At this current pace, Russell is projected to make over 200 threes by the end of the season.
When asked about Harvin’s “green room” comments, Russell emphasized that he had earned his coach’s trust.
“I appreciate him trusting me to that extent,” Russell told reporters. “Definitely feel like I earned something like that and it wasn’t given. So, to know that that’s something I put the work in to do and put the work and continue to do, it seems normal for me, humbly.”
Russell, a nine-year NBA veteran, is arguably having the best season of his career, averaging 18.1 points, 6.4 assists and three rebounds. Although he previously averaged more points in places like Brooklyn and Golden State, Russell is shooting a career-high 42.4 percent from three this season — 14th best in the league. If not for his shooting, the Lakers would be way worse than 23rd in the league in three-pointers made per game.
