Brooklyn Nets point guard D’Angelo Russell has not quite looked the same since returning from the knee injury which saw him miss a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. But according to Bryan Lewis of the New York Post, Russell claims his knee is completely healthy and that his poor play was just a result of lack of rhythm.

“Yeah,” Russell said when asked if he was 100 percent fit. When asked if he was just looking for his rhythm, he replied, “It’s as simple as that.”

Russell had a blazing hot start which saw him average 23 points on 46 percent shooting with 4.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists through his first four games as a Nets player. But in two games back, he is averaging just 13.5 points on 40 percent shooting, 2.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in only 21 minutes per game as the Nets are in the midst of their first losing skid of the season.

Russell deserves the benefit of the doubt if he says he is indeed fine physically. Two games is a small sample size and his decline in play could very easily be due to a lack of rhythm as he claims. But considering Russell already has some history of knee problems, it should become somewhat concerning if he still doesn't show marked improvement in the coming games.