The Brooklyn Nets will not have the services of point guard D’Angelo Russell for Wednesday’s game against the defending Eastern Conference champions Cleveland Cavaliers due to a sprained right knee injury. This is according to separate reports from Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com and Brian Lewis of the New York Post.
https://twitter.com/joevardon/status/923305323749834752
#Nets guard D'Angelo Russell tweaked his knee last night but finished the game. Both he & Atkinson had downplayed it.
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) October 25, 2017
As pointed out by Lewis, Russell hurt his knee during Tuesday’s 125-121 road loss to the Orlando Magic but managed to play until the buzzer sounded for 30 minutes. Russell could’ve been given a go if this was a playoff game, but head coach Kenny Atkinson has no need to play it risky with Russell this early in the season.
Russell’s absence is a big blow for Brooklyn’s chances of upsetting the Cavaliers. The second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft is currently the team’s best player, leading the Nets in points (23.0), assists (5.5), and steals (1.8) per game, while making 2.3 3-pointers per game on 46.7 percent shooting from the floor.
The Nets are already dealing with the season-long absence of Jeremy Lin so this surprise pullout of Russell at least for tonight’s contest leaves Brooklyn with a backcourt bannered by backups. In lieu of Russell, Atkinson will likely start Spencer Dinwiddie, while Caris LeVert handles the two-guard spot.
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