Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images 

Ahead of the second playoff series in as many years, one of the main focuses for the Lakers was D’Angelo Russell. Having played so poorly last season that he was benched in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, many eyes turned to D’Lo, given his importance and strong play this season.

Unfortunately, it was a bit of deja vu all over again.

Russell did jump out to a quick start, hitting three of his first four shots. For context, D’Lo shot just 3-12 in Game 3 and 4 combined last season.

However, after the hot start on Saturday, Russell made just three of his next 16 shots, finishing 1-9 from the 3-point line overall. His 13 points may have surpassed his average from last year’s playoff series against Denver, but it was a far cry from what the Lakers needed both in Saturday’s loss and moving forward in this series.

Postgame, though, it wasn’t doom and gloom from D’Lo. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

“Great looks. I mean, I can’t be mad,” Russell said. “I don’t recall the last time I got 20, so for me to get 20 good looks – not 20 good, probably, five or six of them were questionable. I know what I’m capable of. Honestly, I’m excited. I’m excited about that.

“I just feel like sometimes the ball just don’t fall. I was locked into all the details and the little things to try to stay on the floor defensively and things like that. When you look up, your shot’s not falling. No love lost. Can’t be upset about that one. Be ready for the next one.”

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As frustrating as it was on Saturday to watch Russell struggle again, this one was substantially different from last season. D’Lo and the Lakers’ process was better than last season, when D’Lo was often a bystander.

In this Game 1, it felt more like a streaky shooting night from Russell — who is certainly prone to them — than the struggles he had last season against the Nuggets, when Bruce Brown played him off the floor. Give D’Lo the shots he took on Saturday in any other night and he could easily have exploded for 30-plus points.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing is that Russell remained confident even as his shot wasn’t falling. Last season, across all four games against Denver in the postseason, D’Lo attempted just 31 total field goals.

The shots were there, D’Lo just wasn’t knocking them down. There certainly could be an aspect of it all being the fact he’s playing the Nuggets again, but given his confidence and self-belief, it’s hard to imagine that playing a role in things.

Equally important, too, is that Russell’s teammates still have belief in him.

“Just get ready for Game 2,” Anthony Davis said of what his message for Russell would be. “We can’t do anything about this. But you can do something about Game 2. We know what D’Lo brings to our team. Offensively, he can score, shoot the ball extremely well. Just got to do it. It’s not a regular season game where we have time. We’re down 0-1.

“It’s on him to just come in and we’re going to continue to preach to continue to shoot the ball and play as he’s been playing up to this point. I think he’s a player that never loses confidence in himself but I think when he sees a couple go in, he’s going to be a different player.”

There’s certainly no guarantee that Russell will bounce back in Game 2. Maybe there is a voodoo curse on him and he is never going to play well against the Nuggets in the playoffs again. He exorcised some demons against the Pelicans in the play-in game to get the team to this point and now the Lakers are going to need even more.

Both Russell and the Lakers would take the open looks he had at the rim and beyond the arc every game of this series with the expectation — and hope — that regular season D’Lo will make his way to the playoffs.

“Definitely not frustrated about missing shots,” Russell said. “I love the looks I was getting so, honestly, I truly mean that. I’m excited about that, knowing that I got the looks that I wanted, things like that.”