Lakers News: D’Angelo Russell wants to find ways to be effective without scoring

After equaling the worst-shooting night of his career with a 1-9 showing in the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the LA Clippers, guard D’Angelo Russell wasn’t apologetic. Instead, he was resolute to find other ways to make an impact for his team.

"You're going to have tough games in this league when your shot's not falling,” Russell told reporters on Spectrum Sportsnet following the defeat. “You've got to still be effective."

Russell was able to find a few possible strategies to help the Lakers without scoring. He led the team in assists with six, and head coach Luke Walton was happy with the auxiliary things he was able to do.

“He was competing. He was talking. He was making the right plays still,” Walton told Mark Medina of the Orange County Register. “When he was open, he was shooting them. That’s what he’s supposed to do.”

The issue for Russell, as always, has been what he does on the defensive end (where the Lakers allowed a team-worst defensive rating of 136.1) and turnovers (of which he had three). He’s spoken recently about wanting to improve his defense, but until he actually does so, he knows that such talk means about.

"You're going to have tough games here and there. It's how you respond from it, and that's really my main focus,” Russell said on Spectrum Sportsnet. “I don't really think about all the other stuff I can't control."

All stats per NBA.com. and Basketball-Reference.com. Harrison Faigen is co-host of the Locked on Lakers podcast (subscribe here), and you can follow him on Twitter at @hmfaigen.