D’Angelo return means PG team-up likely

Spencer Dinwiddie has emerged as a go-to guy for the Nets, the best bargain in the league according to Raptors coach Dwane Casey. But D’Angelo Russell has returned to practice with a return to the court imminent. Do the Nets have a point-guard controversy?

No, coach Kenny Atkinson said, they have a killer backcourt combo.

“I’m comfortable with that,” Atkinson said. “We’ll make the decision when it presents itself, but I’m comfortable with it. It’s not like, no way, we’re never doing that.

“Spencer is playing so well that we need him on the court. Obvi- ously what’s good about D’Angelo is that he proved with Jeremy [Lin] that he has absolutely no problem playing on the ball and off the ball. I actually think he enjoys playing off the ball also. He likes both.”

Russell not only likes it, but has thrived at it.

Last season with the Lakers, he saw his production spike from 14.2 points and 4.7 assists to 18.5 points and 5.0 assists after the All-Star break, including a 40-point eruption against the Cavaliers. Most of that surge came while he was playing off the ball, with Jordan Clarkson at the point. This season, Russell — averaging a team-high 20.9 points and 5.7 assists — had been coexisting with Lin in the back- court during the preseason.

After Lin suffered a season-ending knee injury in the regular-season opener, the Nets tried a number of solutions. Dinwiddie started just two of their first 13 games. It wasn’t until Russell’s Nov. 11 leftknee injury (which necessitated arthroscopic surgery) that Dinwiddie became a full-time starter, but he ran with the job. Now it looks as if he and Russell eventually will be running together.

“The great thing about Spencer is that he’s 6-6,” Atkinson said. “Sometimes when you have two small point guards, [you wonder]: Who do you put on the two-guard? Spencer can play any 6-6 guy in the league. … He was on [DeMar] DeRozan for a while. It’s not a concern.

“In that equation, you’ve got Caris [LeVert] and you want to keep him in his comfort zone: All that’s going to play into it. It’s a good problem to have.”

Nik Stauskas (sprained left ankle) is questionable for Wednesday’s game.