For people who are jumping off the bridge about our young guys..
Julius Randle -
13th in RPG
If you go by RP48min he's 9th
11th in DRPG 7.4 (Exception of Whiteside, everybody else plays between 5-10 minutes more than him - leader is DeAndre with 10 DRPG)
rebounding rate - 19.2 (2nd among PF to Thomas Robinson who only plays 9.8mpg)..
defensive rebound rate - 30.3 (1st among PF ahead of Kevin Love)
offensive rebounding rate - 8.6 (25th among PF)
When you expand the rebounding rate to all players of all positions
defensive rebound rate - 30.3 is 4th in the NBA, just behind Hassan Whiteside's 3rd at 31.0
19.2 total rebound rate is T-14 with Tristan Thompson & Karl Anthony-Towns
Double doubles - 16 Tied with Kristaps & Draymond (T-21st in the league)
20th in PPG by PFs... His game needs a lot of refining on offense with the midrange shot, touch around the basket, and a right.. Even being just okay at that, would increase his efficiency immensely.
Remember he's only 21, and just turned 21 - 2 months ago today.
D'Angelo Russell
Of Players ages 18-20 since 1979-80.... There's been 5 guys with a PER36 of 16.3 PP36 4.9 RP36 4.4 AP36
-Magic Johnson
-LeBron James (2x)
-Russell Westbrook
-Tyreke Evans
-D'Angelo Russell
Only 2 did it as teenagers - LeBron & Russell
Now Imagine how much he's been held back by Byron, and how much that has impacted him, even if it's by an extra basket, rebound and assist per game, he'd be 15-6-5 PER GAME in 27 minutes as a rookie, at 19.
Hell Russell even has been saying he's had trouble trying to talk to Byron on what to improve on because of communication between the 2.
So if you think Russell is playing bad, that's fine. He's still in tremendous company so far Tyreke aside who looked great at the beginning, but never progressed. Despite D'Lo playing for a coach who can't coach, a system that sucks, with guys who don't fit well, off the bench for no reason, and not being let loose to make plays, mistakes, and get the feel. If this is the floor for him, and even if he makes only some improvement every year, you're looking at an easy All-Star
We'll be more than fine