‘Don’t give up on us’: D’Angelo Russell makes huge promise to Lakers fans

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell took to Discord following the team’s loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 and promised that the Lakers will go on to win the series despite being in a 0-2 series hole at the moment.

Russell seemingly did all he could to help lead the Lakers to a victory over the Nuggets on Monday. He scored 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and 7-of-11 shooting from 3-point range in Game 2.

But the Lakers fell by two points despite owning a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Los Angeles was outscored 32-20 in the final frame, and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray hit a game-winner with no time left on the clock to secure Denver the win.

Now that Russell and the Lakers have dropped the first two games of their first-round series, their odds to advance to the next round of the playoffs are stacked against them. Around 92.7 percent of all NBA teams with a 2-0 series lead in the playoffs go on to advance.

But despite the fact that history isn’t on the Lakers’ side, the team still seemingly has a puncher’s chance to win at least one of the next two games in the series — both of which will take place at Crypto.com Arena — if Russell can maintain a high quality of play in the Lakers’ upcoming home games.

After all, the Lakers finished the 2023-24 regular season with one of the better home records in the Western Conference. Los Angeles won 28 of its 42 home games.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves — who earned the top three seeds in the Western Conference standings — were the only teams in Los Angeles’ conference who ended up with more wins at home.

Here’s to hoping that Russell will fulfill his promise to fans of the storied Lakers franchise and help lead the team to an improbable first-round series victory against the defending NBA champions.

Game 3 of the series between the Lakers and Nuggets is scheduled to take place on Thursday night.