D’Angelo Russell has always been able to score, but his improvement as a facilitator is helping spur the Nets’ five-game win streak.
“He was just spry. Spry. He was aggressive, he was energetic. Offensively he was aggressive. But I thought defensively he was locked in,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “When D’Angelo is like that we take it to another level. He was excellent.”
Russell had a game-high 32 points in Sunday’s 144-127 win over Atlanta. But more important, his seven-assist, six-rebound, no-turnover game continued an efficient stretch running the attack.
“Just not forcing it. I always catch myself — I can speak for myself — forcing it when I don’t have to instead of just getting off of it. Me getting off of it is either passing it to Joe Harris or Spencer [Dinwiddie] or somebody else that’s capable. Just trusting my team,” Russell said.
“He’s a 22-year-old quarterback. And this is a tough league, and Atlanta as hard as they played tonight they’ve got a ton of young talent, but he’s learning,” Atkinson said. “He’s learning on the job, and we’re giving him a ton of minutes and he keeps getting better. I know we want him perfect, we want him more consistent but I think that’s just going to come with time. Again, outstanding job by him.”
Soccer star Antoine Griezmann, who won the World Cup with France and finished in the top three in the Ballon d’Or award, was in the stands watching Russell. Apparently Russell is popular among the French national team, with its members giving him shoutouts and mimicking his “ice water in the veins” celebration after the team’s big win this summer. The striker even had DLO on his shoes.
In other shoe news, Dinwiddie’s custom shoes were Qin Shi Huang-themed, saying on social media he was taken by stories of the terra-cotta army in his visit to China.
The Nets got pinstriped jerseys from the Yankees, as well as an announcer. Bronx Bombers radio play-by-play man John Sterling called Sunday’s game between the Nets and Atlanta for the YES Network. Those were the same teams he’d once worked for, calling Nets games from 1975-80 and the Hawks from 1981-89.