The Nets just lost the one player they couldn’t afford to lose.
Now, it remains to be seen how long until they get back D’Angelo Russell.
The point guard was forced out of Thursday’s 110-97 loss to the Cavaliers at Barlcays Center with a right ankle sprain and didn’t return.
Since Russell joined the Nets, they came into the Cavs tilt 8-8 when he played but a winless 0-6 when he didn’t.
The Nets led by five when Russell limped off midway through the third quarter, but immediately allowed a 28-11 run and were blown out.
D’Angelo Russell, dribbling up court, was forced to exit with an ankle injury in the Nets’ 110-97 loss to the Cavaliers on Feb. 20, 2025. John Jones-Imagn Images“Very [damaging]. Veteran leader of this team, keeps things calm and centered. So for him to go down, that’s tough,” Cam Johnson said. “But I think we’ve got capable guys across the board. I don’t think it should’ve gotten out of hand. But sometimes it happens.”
It happened Thursday. Russell helped the Nets to a 60-55 lead against the team tied for the best record in the NBA.
But he drove the lane and stepped on a foot, hurting his ankle. He hopped off the floor with 8:39 left in the third quarter.
Russell never came back, and neither did the Nets’ momentum.
Keon Johnson (16 points) immediately committed a turnover that preceded the game-changing Cleveland run that put the Nets into a 12-point hole.
Donovan Mitchell, who scored a game-high 26 points, drives past Day’Ron Sharpe during the Nets’ loss to the Cavaliers. APThe Nets shot just 5 of 15 with three turnovers in that blitz, the misses and giveaways fueling Cleveland’s transition game.
They allowed the Cavaliers to shoot 11 of 15, with Donovan Mitchell (game-high 26 points) hitting a pull-up 3 to make it 83-71 with a minute left in the third.
The deficit swelled to 21 in the fourth.
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“We don’t know if [Russell] is going to be out or not. So once that happens, we’ll figure it out,” Jordi Fernandez said. “We’ve never had problems with having the next-man mentality, and if that’s the case, I trust Killian [Hayes] and Trendon [Watford] to play and run the team and help the team. Same as Tyrese [Martin]. So, I’ve seen it before. I’ve seen it being successful. So, obviously we all want DLo, but whatever days he needs to be back healthy we’ll keep fighting.”
Cam Johnson, who scored 18 points, shoots over a slew of Cavaliers defenders during the Nets’ loss. John Jones-Imagn Images
Jordi Fernandez gives out instructions during the Nets’ loss to the Cavaliers. Getty ImagesCam Johnson had a team-high 18. But without Russell — who finished with just three points, but team highs of five assists and a plus-9 — the attack sputtered.
The Nets have dealt with a gaping hole at backup point guard behind Russell ever since buying out Ben Simmons and had been forced to use Watford there.
They gave Hayes — who had been toiling with G-League Long Island — a 10-day contract to try out for that role. Now he could be forced into an even heavier workload.
“It hurt [seeing Russell go down],” said Watford. “I mean, I’ve been playing point guard anyway. So it’s not going to be too much different.”
