Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas didn't hold back when criticizing LA Lakers' point guard D'Angelo Russell for his abysmal performance last night. Russell only had four points as the Denver Nuggets took the chance and ended the season for Los Angeles in four straight games, and Arenas wasn't happy.
Russell only took four shots from the field last night and made two. His presence on the floor wasn't game-changing and it was probably why he only played for 15 minutes in Game 4.
After his subpar performance, Arenas took the chance to go on a full rant about the All-Star not showing up in Game 4:
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"I didn't sleep last night. I was running through trails that I thought, 'This is the last game of the season, Bron is there 1 o'clock.' What the f**k was the rest of y'all doing?! At home, sleep." Arenas said.
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"They wanna shoot shots after the game. The f**k you shooting for? You should've started that during the game. D-Lo took -- how many shots did he take after the last game? Probably 200. To come to the next game to take 2 shots! Get the f**k off my team! The f**k you doing on my team for?"
"If I'm watching you take 200-300 shots and you come in the NBA game, the last game and you take four f**king shots. Alright, good job."
D-Lo wasn't part of the starting five, unlike the first three games where he was alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Through four games in the Conference finals, Russell only had one game where he scored double digits and was a non-factor on the defensive end.
According to Nuggets guard Bruce Brown, part of their game plan was to expose the Lakers guard defensively.
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Stephen A. Smith doubles down on his criticism of D'Angelo Russell
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D'Angelo Russell has had some decent games for Los Angeles in his first playoff run with the Lakers. However, it looked like he ran out of juice in the series, which is why he wasn't a significant help to the team.
Famed analyst Stephen A. Smith gave some advice for Russell after the Lakers were swept:
"D'Angelo Russell, my brother you should just go some place and hide. Really, you should. What an atrocious performance [in] this series against the Denver Nuggets. I mean, my God." Smith said.
The Lakers' future now largely depends on LeBron James, and whether or not he will be wearing a purple and gold jersey next season.
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