Up in the pair
Nets looking for ways to play Dinwiddie, Russell together
The Nets will pair D’Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie together more in the second half of the season. Now they have to figure out how they fit, and how the rest of the pieces fit around them. “Assuming his minutes go up, I’d certainly hope so,” Dinwiddie said. “Because if not then that means I ain’t playing.” Brooklyn’s recent form has been a joke, but not the funny kind. The Nets come out of the All-Star break mired in a seven-game skid and, with 23 games left, one of the more important goals is assessing Russell and Dinwiddie on the court together. “That’s a job for coach [Kenny Atkinson] to make happen,” Russell said. “I’ll go out there and do what he says.” But it sounds like it’s a job Atkinson is taking on. “We’ve started to do it more, get a sample size. It’s something similar to Jeremy [Lin] and D’Angelo in the beginning,” Atkinson said. “I do like that. I do like having two guards that can really handle the ball. “Now, you’ve got to look at the other pieces and how they fit. Someone’s got to be out. One of our good wing players has got to be out if they’re going to play. Or we go super small. Figuring that puzzle out is a challenge. But yes, we can expect more of that.”
Would Atkinson bench Allen Crabbe, who has finally found his stroke and averaged 25 points per game in his past four games? Or slide him to small forward?
The Nets also could shift DeMarre Carroll to power forward, which they have done but often at the cost of defense and rebounding. Starting power forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is also expected back Monday from his groin injury.
“It’s something we’re looking at, something we have to con- sider,” Atkinson said. “You have to balance what’s good for us offensively, what’s good for us defensively. So there’s a lot that goes into that.” Like matchups, film study and analytics, which haven’t been pretty. The duo has logged 112 minutes together over 17 games — one start — with the Nets a minus-20. They have played 65 minutes since Russell’s return, and are minus-9.
“Remember, when he was doing his thing killing in the first part of the season, I was on the bench. Now he’s been finding his rhythm, and it’s been after a pretty lengthy absence,” Dinwiddie said. “I’m not surprised by that at all. The first part of the season is more indicative of what type of player he is. When you miss 30, 40 games you’re going to have that up and down. You’re trying to find yourself.
“A team’s been running a certain way in your absence … now the team has to adjust. It wasn’t a two-game thing: It was half the season. All of that is a growth process. It’s something he’s going through and we’re going through. But you can’t get worse by adding more talent. We look forward to finding that balance of him finding his rhythm completely.”
He’s finding it bit by bit. Since his return, Russell is averaging just 10.8 points, 3.6 assists and 2.7 turnovers. Over his past three games, he has averaged 18.8 points and 6.3 assists, as well as three turnovers, a stat Atkinson said the young guard must fix.
“It’s now just adding consistency to that. It’s an improvement area for him. Turnovers are too high, he knows he’s got to get it down. Less risky plays,” Atkinson said. “Love his vision, [but] they definitely have to cut down, make better decisions.”
Part of that may be getting used to coming off the bench.
“You have to learn to pinch hit,” Atkinson said.