FOURTH & WRONG
Russell glued to the bench as Nets rallied late in lost opener
Entering his contract year, D’Angelo Russell was ready to break out and prove to the Nets he could be a longterm answer for them.
The point guard will have to wait another night to show it.
Russell was glued to the bench for the entire fourth quarter of the Nets’ seasonopening 103-100 loss to the Pistons on Wednesday.
Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert got the heavy workload at the guard positions as the Nets battled back to take a late lead, only to let it slip away, while Russell didn’t get a shot to contribute anything in crunch time.
“It’s something that you try to do and take care of business every day in here and develop that trust with your coaches and stuff like that,” Russell said Thursday after practice, ahead of the Nets’ home opener Friday against the Knicks. “It’s the first game. It’s not something I plan on getting too low about.”
Coach Kenny Atkinson insisted Russell’s relegation to the bench was not punishment for not playing well — he scored eight points on 3of-9 shooting while chipping in five assists in 25 minutes — but instead was a result of Dinwiddie and LeVert playing well and not wanting to disrupt their rhythm.
Atkinson called Dinwiddie’s performance “a masterpiece,” with his ability to get to the rim while scoring 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting and dishing out six assists off the bench. LeVert, meanwhile, lived up to the preseason buzz that surrounded him and scored a game-high 27 points while also being lauded for his defense against Pistons guard Reggie Jackson.
“Listen, I think we’ve got a lot of good point guards, two guards, perimeter guys and there’s only so many minutes,” Atkinson said. “Those other guys, we had to play them. … They were getting to the rim. They were playing great basketball.”
Atkinson added he could have played Russell, Dinwiddie and LeVert at the same time — and has done so in the past — but he wanted Joe Harris on the floor at the three to provide more size because the Nets were struggling to rebound.
“I would love that opportunity to go back on the floor,” Russell said. “At a certain time, you kind of realize when you’re not going to go back in, so you try to cheer other guys that are capable of being in that position.”
Russell has closed games before for the Nets and will again soon, Atkinson said.
“I can guarantee you that, in two games, it’s going to be probably flipped around,” he said. “D’Angelo is going to have the great game. We’ve got to do it on a game-togame basis and work it out that way.”
The Nets chose not to ink Russell to a rookie-scale extension before Monday’s deadline, meaning he will be a restricted free agent next summer. The 22-year-old has this season to prove to the team that he can be its solution. Knee surgery interrupted his first season with the Nets last year, costing him more than two months, but now that he is healthy he wants to show what he can do.
Dinwiddie is also playing for his next contract — likely to be less expensive than Russell — as he is set to be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Before either of them get there, though, there are games to be won and fourthquarter minutes to be had.
“Man, it’s just tough for us to lose, honestly,” Russell said. “I feel like that’s a game we should’ve won. As far as subbing goes, [Atkinson] is right. We’ve got multiple guys that are capable of doing that.”