SACRAMENTO, Calif. — D’Angelo Russell is back in the lineup, and back in form.
After missing two months following knee surgery, Russell has worked his way back into the Nets’ starting five. With just 20 games left — including Thursday’s game against the Kings — Brooklyn needs the budding young guard to keep developing toward becoming a cornerstone.
“I feel great,” Russell said. “My body feels good.”
Both his production and the eye test back that up.
Russell is coming off a sterling all-around performance Tuesday in Cleveland, with a team-high 25 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals. He finished a team-high plus-10 in 32 minutes.
“Just being aggressive. Early in the game I saw the holes in the game that I could capitalize on,” Russell said.
“Oh man, it was only a matter of time. That’s D’Angelo’s game. He can score, he can pass, play-make. There isn’t much he can’t do,” Rondae Hollis-Jefferson said. “It just feels good to have him back.”
The Nets need him back for the rest of the season, as much for assessment as development. They’ll have four lead guards on the payroll for next season, and must figure out which ones can lead.
With the Nets having surrendered Brook Lopez and a first-round pick — as well as taking on the onerous contract of Timofey Mozgov — to get Russell, he’s not a low-risk flier like Jahlil Okafor. General manager Sean Marks is betting high on Russell, who turned 22 last Thursday.
Russell had looked like a sound investment, averaging 20.9 points and 5.7 assists before arthroscopic knee surgery cost him 32 games. He had averaged just 6.4 points in his first six tentative games after returning Jan. 19. But in his past 11 games, he has seen his production rise to 14.5 points and 5.3 assists. And in his last six — three of them starts — that has spiked to 17.5 points and 6.3 assists.
Just don’t tell Russell he’s getting back to his pre-injury self. He’s quick to point out that he’s adjusting to a new role playing alongside Spencer Dinwiddie.
“It’s a different role, playing off the ball,” said Russell. “I don’t think I’m trying to get back to that point, I’m trying to create a whole new avenue for myself. It’s a different situation.”
Russell saw his production spike after last season’s All-Star break, most of that surge coming after the Lakers moved him off the ball and Jordan Clarkson into the lineup. But he said he doesn’t look for his shot any more playing off the ball than he does on it.
“I always look for my shot. I try to make the best play,” Russell said. “I might have 10 assists, or I might not have any assists. It’s just all about being aggressive, picking and choosing when and where.”
He is allaying fears over his ability to play alongside Dinwiddie. They haven’t had a lot of court time together, and haven’t been dominant with the minutes they’ve gotten, but the duo is clearly improving. They finished a plus-five in 27.5 minutes together Tuesday.
It’s no secret Russell is going to play, Dinwiddie even joked about it. But with the Nets having picked up next season’s options on Russell ($7 million) and backup Caris LeVert, holding a team-friendly option on Dinwiddie and seeing Jeremy Lin pick up his own player option, they’ll have four point guards on the books. They must see who’s progressing, and who plays well with whom.
“The beauty of the situation is we both have size, we both have a very versatile skill set,” said Dinwiddie. “There’s no real limitation.”
Except roster limitations. And the next 20 games will help Marks evaluate those limitations this offseason.
Okafor (illness) and Isaiah Whitehead (G-League) are both out Thursday versus the Kings.