Nets rule out D'Angelo Russell for Cavs matchup with tank race heating up
03/11/2025 12:34 PM
The Brooklyn Nets will be without their starting point guard when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday at Rocket Arena. D’Angelo Russell was ruled out for the matchup on the second night of a back-to-back due to right ankle injury management.
Russell has appeared in the Nets’ last four games after missing two weeks with a right ankle sprain in late February. The veteran point guard has averaged 13.9 points on 42/32/67 shooting splits with 5.5 assists and 1.5 turnovers per game since returning.
Russell posted just eight points on 2-of-7 shooting during Monday’s 111-108 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. However, he had seven assists with one turnover and drained a clutch three to put Brooklyn up six with 1:34 remaining.
Nets resting D’Angelo Russell vs. Cavs as tank race heats up
The Nets will welcome Cam Thomas and Trendon Watford back to the lineup in Cleveland. Both players missed Monday’s win due to left hamstring injury management. It marked the second straight back-to-back that Thomas and Watford have sat after both players missed multiple stretches due to hamstring injuries earlier this season.
Brooklyn’s win over Los Angeles, which snapped a seven-game losing streak, cost them in the tank race. With the Toronto Raptors defeating the Washington Wizards on Monday, a loss would have bumped the Nets to fifth in the draft lottery standings. Instead, they remain a half-game back of Toronto and tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for sixth.
The tank race is heating up with less than a quarter of the season remaining. The 76ers should do everything they can to finish ahead of the Nets, as they owe their pick top-six protected to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Philadelphia recently shut down Joel Embiid for the season, and head coach Nick Nurse said he’ll monitor Guerschon Yabusele, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes’ minutes moving forward.
Meanwhile, the Raptors have taken measures to stay ahead of Brooklyn. They sat four starters down the stretch of Tuesday’s Orlando Magic matchup but still managed to win on a miraculous, last-second shot by rookie Ja'Kobe Walter.
The Nets’ decision to sit Russell, Thomas and Watford for injury management in recent games shows they’re willing to take some steps to try to finish ahead of the 76ers and Raptors. However, they’ll likely need to ramp up that urgency in the coming weeks, whether via injury designations or in-game lineup decisions, if they hope to maximize their chances of a top-five pick.
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