Training camp for the 2023-24 NBA season is slowly but surely approaching. While there is plenty of time before it begins, it’s time for players to start ramping up their training and preparation.
That’s especially true for the Los Angeles Lakers, who are hoping to win their 18th world championship next summer. They magically remade what was a broken roster in January and February, and they’re aiming for the sky rather than just trying to tread water.
The arrival of D’Angelo Russell in February via the Russell Westbrook trade gave L.A. a ball-handling guard that could score, facilitate and hit from the outside. He played very well during the regular season, but his effectiveness trailed off as the playoff wore on.
Russell will be back on a new two-year contract, and he should work on these three things to help put the Lakers over the top.
Build on his accurate 3-point shooting in the regular season
Russell has never been a consistently good 3-point shooter throughout his career. His accuracy from that distance has gone up and down with each season, but this past season, he seemed to turn a corner.
He shot 39.6% from downtown during the regular season, which included a 41.4% rate in 17 games with the Lakers.
Keeping up that type of accuracy for an entire season would make the team’s offense very potent.
Show up more often in the playoffs
Russell has a history of bad or inconsistent shooting in the playoffs. Although he improved somewhat in that department this spring, he still has lots of room for improvement left.
He shot at least 45% in just seven of L.A.’s 16 playoff games, and overall he was at just 42.6% from the field and 31% from 3-point range. In the Western Conference finals versus the Denver Nuggets, he shot less than 40% in each of the first three games, leading to him being benched and playing just 15 minutes in the Game 4 finale.
The Lakers may not be able to survive Russell pulling another disappearing act in the playoffs.
Stay healthy
Russell has had trouble staying healthy the last few years, and that problem continued shortly after he joined the Lakers. In just his fourth game with the team, he suffered an ankle injury and missed the next six contests.
Los Angeles already has more than enough injury-prone key players. Russell missing significant time with another injury this coming season would put too much pressure on an aging LeBron James.
