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Russell sees playoffs for Nets in not-too-distant future

Russell says Brooklyn can contend ‘sooner rather than later’

March 29, 2018 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
D’Angelo Russell showed off his much-improved all-around game in Brooklyn’s victory against Orlando on Wednesday night. Russell is playing his best ball since coming to the Nets in last summer’s deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. AP Photo by John Raoux
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D’Angelo Russell sees a bright future for the Brooklyn Nets, one that might include a playoff berth as soon as next season.

“We’re going to be in the playoffs sooner rather than later,” Russell insisted after scoring 16 points and handing out 12 assists to lead Brooklyn to a 111-104 victory over the Orlando Magic in front of 16,517 fans at the Amway Center on Wednesday night.

“It’s sad that we’re figuring things out right now,” added Russell. “But the last few games, when everyone is making an effort to do what they do best, we’re a good team.”

That might be stretching it a bit as the Nets (24-51) are still closer to the NBA cellar than a postseason berth after snapping a three-game losing streak with their first road victory since March 8.

But the 22-year-old point guard, healthy and thriving in the starting lineup after missing two months earlier this season with a knee injury, appears to be adapting well to the role of on-the-floor leader that general manager Sean Marks and head coach Kenny Atkinson envisioned for him when they dealt for him last summer.

The former Laker has spent March honing his game for what he and the Nets hope will be a healthy breakthrough campaign as one of the league’s elite players next year.

Russell is averaging 16.6 points and nearly six assists per game this month, proving he can score and handle the ball with greater efficiency than he did prior to his Nov. 11 injury, when he was averaging better than four giveaways per contest.

The emphasis on protecting and sharing the ball will be a major key to Russell dispelling the rumor that he doesn’t play well with others, a symptom of his rocky two-year stint with Los Angeles before his trade to Brooklyn.

In the past five games, two of which have resulted in Nets victories, Russell is netting 7.6 assists and 2.4 turnovers per night.

And teammates like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and rookie Jarrett Allen have been the beneficiaries of their point man’s diligence in sharing the wealth.

“Even though we lost the last few games, we’ve been playing the right way and we’re inching over the hump,” Hollis-Jefferson noted after picking up 14 points and nine rebounds against the Magic.

“Tonight was a good display of what we should be doing to finish games,” added Allen, who had 15 points, eight rebounds and was a contributor to Brooklyn’s decisive 17-2 run to open the fourth quarter.

Caris LeVert scored 16 points and DeMarre Carroll added 14 for the Nets, who saw all five of their starters score in double figures in one of their most balanced efforts of the campaign.

Russell was the maestro of the attack, going 5-for-9 from the floor, 4-of-4 at the free-throw line, grabbing five rebounds, picking up a steal and a blocked shot while turning the ball over just twice.

More importantly, he and the rest of the Nets clamped down on defense when it mattered most, limiting the Magic to 23 fourth-quarter points after yielding an average of 34 in the final period of their previous three losses.

“After giving up 30 in the third period, I told the guys this would be a game of stops and I thought our guys locked in,” Atkinson said. “We’ve been pushing to get over the hump and we got over it tonight.”

Russell, who has already had his club option exercised for next year, revealed earlier this month that he is in Brooklyn for the long haul.

“I want to build my legacy here. I got drafted [by the Lakers], but I don’t want people to remember me as a Laker,” he said.

With only six games remaining in this injury-plagued season, five of which will be on the road, Russell’s message of hope for the Nets’ future isn’t falling on deaf ears, either in his own locker room or in Downtown Brooklyn.

But that’s only because his game is backing up his words.

“We’re out here playing for a reason no matter how many games are left,” he said following Wednesday’s win. “We can rack up some wins and that will give us some momentum heading into the summer.”

Russell and the Nets hope to resume their late-season surge Saturday night in Miami.

Nothing But Net: Former Nets star and head coach Jason Kidd is expected to be announced as one of the new members of the Naismith Hall of Fame this weekend. Kidd, who led the New Jersey Nets to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003, will likely be joined on the 2018 Class by Grant Hill, Steve Nash and Maurice Cheeks, according to ESPN’s Adrian WojnarowskiJoe Harris scored 14 points off the bench Wednesday night in Orlando to complement the Nets’ balanced scoring attack. The sharp-shooter went 4-for-4 from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, and drained all four of his free throws as well.

 

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