D’Angelo Russell‘s usage should skyrocket with Cam Thomas and Cam Johnson set to miss extended time. However, the 6-3 guard is now dealing with an injury of his own, so that may have to wait a while.
Russell did not play in the second half of Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers because of a right shin contusion, which left the Nets completely gutted in a 123-94 home loss. He had five points, four rebounds and two assists in 14 minutes.
The 28-year-old was listed as questionable entering Monday’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Barclays Center but was ruled out just minutes before head coach Jordi Fernandez sat down at the podium for his pregame news conference.
Ben Simmons (lower back injury management) was also ruled out against the Pacers. No Russell, Thomas or Simmons meant the Nets were severely undermanned in the backcourt.
“You know, it’s next man up,” Fernandez said. “As long as we have a 9, 10-man rotation, we’re in a good place. And I think that the guys, I want to see these guys, like I said before, taking the next step, doing things that they’re not accustomed to doing. It’s exciting. It’s exciting to see some guys handling more, some guys at the point guard more, some guys taking more shots, creating those shots, taking those different roles. So, it’s a good opportunity to see growth in a lot of these guys.”
Russell has averaged 12.7 points, two rebounds and eight assists in three games since joining the Nets. Simmons missed his third straight game on Monday. Fernandez did not provide a timetable for when Russell or Simmons will return.
“We’re not going to rush [them] if they’re not 100% at play and if it could turn into something worse,” Fernandez said. “For sure the number one thing for us is their health, their bodies. And we’ll have ten other bodies to go out there and fight”
WHITEHEAD CALLED UP
With Russell, Simmons and Thomas out, second-year guard Dariq Whitehead was called up from the G League to add backcourt depth. The 20-year-old averaged 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 13 games on Long Island this season.
“He’s done a good job trying to do what we ask him to do here, trying to go there in those games and do it too, how we want him to play in the NBA,” Fernandez said. “Obviously, when we define a role for you, we want you to take the same shots, it’s just a different team obviously and you’ll play a certain number of minutes, maybe more. Still, we want you to play in a way that you come here, and you’ll do the same things. We’re happy with his attitude, the way he’s worked, and we want to see him keep getting better.”
MORE MINUTES FOR EVBUOMWAN?
There are obviously plenty of minutes to go around with the Nets’ latest slew of injuries, and until guys get healthy, that could mean more minutes for two-way player Tosan Evbuomwan.
Evbuomwan, who inked a two-way deal with Brooklyn last week, made his debut against the 76ers and finished with three points in 21 minutes. The England native became the second Princeton alum to suit up for the Nets all-time, joining Steve Goodrich.
“We don’t want to see anybody get hurt, but at the same time, now we have enough bodies to go out there and compete,” Fernandez said. “So, opportunities that are important in life in general, and the NBA, it’s — you know, you see it all the time. Guys that, they see that window and an opportunity to take advantage of it.”