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In the final seconds of the fourth quarter in the Brooklyn Nets' 128-138 double-overtime loss to the visiting New Orleans Pelicans, head coach Kenny Atkinson subbed D'Angelo Russell out of the game for Joe Harris. This came after Russell committed his team-high fifth turnover of the night, a pretty much-unforced backcourt violation. This led many to believe that Atkinson wanted to teach Russell a lesson. The third-year guard coughed the ball six times in his previous game, so it only made sense for Atkinson to discipline his young player. Russell did not return to the game until the 2:50 mark in the second overtime.
Still, Atkinson denied trying to teach D-Lo a lesson and said it was a matter of monitoring his playing time as Russell makes his way back from an injury that sidelined him for more than one half of the season. According to Brian Lewis from NY Post, Atkinson said:
“No, it wasn’t about the turnover. It was also about understanding where he is in his return back. He was at 29 minutes there, so definitely could’ve played more. I felt, ‘Let’s save him a little.’ We got him back in in the second overtime, when we were down, but definitely thought about that. I thought Joe did a great job when he was in there, so definitely not about the turnover.”
Russell did not seem bothered by the issue and said those decisions were not up to him: “I feel like it’s a situation where the performance team has a say, the coach has a say, and they go by that. I feel great, It’s up to the coaches to make those decisions.”
