House of pain
Injuries force Nets to go deep at guard
Brooklyn’s injury woes are so bad that D’Angelo Russell being diagnosed with a left knee contusion qualifies as a mild relief.
It’s not good. It’s sure as heck not great. But the Nets have gotten use to catastrophic, especially at the point-guard position.
Russell was forced out of Saturday night’s loss in Utah with 2:57 left in the game. The guard was examined immediately afterward by the Jazz doctors, and he returned to New York with the team. He was examined again Sunday morning by Nets team doctors and had an MRI exam. The Nets confirmed in a statement he had a contusion and “return to play updates will be provided as appropriate.”
With the Nets set to host the Celtics on Tuesday, the 21-year-old Russell will miss “several games,” according to ESPN, and requires “further evaluation.”
Considering the Nets’ cautious stance regarding injuries, that’s not shocking. Considering their recent history with injuries — particularly to their floor generals — a few games isn’t as bad as it could’ve been. A contusion is essentially a bruise, and the Nets have suffered far worse.
Jeremy Lin was limited to just 36 games last season, largely because of hamstring woes, and suffered a season- ending patella tendon tear in this season’s opener. He’ll play just 37 of a possible 164 games during the first two years of a three-year, $36 million contract. Spencer Dinwiddie missed Saturday’s loss with a hamstring injury and is day-to-day.
Now the Nets have two questions to answer: Just how much time will their budding star guard miss, and who will run the attack while he’s gone?
This isn’t the first time the 21-year-old Russell has dealt with knee woes. A sore left knee cost him 11 games during November and December last season with the Lakers. He eventually needed a plateletrich plasma injection and missed three games in January with an injury to his right knee.
Russell is enjoying a breakout campaign, averaging 20.9 points, 5.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds. His importance was underscored Saturday by his absence. The Nets were outscored 24-10 when Russell sat for a 6:42 stretch that spanned the first and second quarters, and never led again.
The young guard has been the biggest barometer to the Nets’ success. He has started four of their five victories, averaging 19.3 points, but more importantly 8.3 assists and 1.5 steals. But in their eight losses, he’s poured in 21.8 points, but averaged just 4.4 assists and less than a steal a game.
Should Dinwiddie also miss time, the Nets would have to rely on the likes of GLeague call-up Isaiah Whitehead, second-year wing Caris LeVert and perhaps little-used Sean Kilpatrick to shoulder the ball-handling burden.
“It’s a big one. It’s a big maybe. But I’ve just got to be confident out there,” Whitehead said.
Whitehead admitted his confidence wasn’t where it needed to be at the start Saturday, when the Jazz went on their game-deciding run with him on the floor. For his part, LeVert has been struggling mightily on offense and had been told by the coaches to concentrate more on defense. He may not have that luxury now, likely to be used as a ball-handler.
“I think so, along with Isaiah, who played really well [in Saturday’s second half ],” LeVert said. “We have a lot of guys who can handle the basketball.”