Nuggets’ Bruce Brown did not hold back about D’Angelo Russell’s weakness

May 6, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell (1) moves the ball up court against the Golden State Warriors during the first half in game three of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Denver Nuggets wing Bruce Brown did not hold back when talking about D’Angelo Russell’s game.

Brown scored 16 points in 24 minutes off the bench in his Nuggets’ 132-126 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, he spoke with the media and was asked how his team shut down Russell in Game 1. Russell had just 8 points in 26 minutes and was a -25 in the boxscore.

Brown said that the Nuggets made it tough on Russell by defending the Lakers guard the entire way down the court. He also said that when his Nuggets were on offense, they attacked Russell because Russell is “not the best defender, but he definitely tries.”

"Just making it tough on him on the defensive end… On the offensive end, just going at him. He's not the best defender, but he definitely tries."

Bruce Brown on how the Nuggets took D'Angelo Russell out of Game 1.

(via @VidaVivaDiva) pic.twitter.com/NHiiI1bZuq

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 17, 2023

Watching the video, Brown wasn’t looking to slight Russell so much as he was answering a question, but that answer is some bulletin-board stuff.

If Russell didn’t already feel like a weak link for the Lakers, he will now.

Russell recognized that he played poorly in Game 1 and tried to do some extra work after the game (video here). The Lakers will need him to show up much better in the series in order to knock off the No. 1 seed in the West.