Brooklyn Nets: 5 takeaways from awful loss to Rockets

1. Russell sits the 4th again and now … it’s a thing

When D’Angelo Russell remained on the bench down the stretch on opening night against the Detroit Pistons, it was easily explained away by Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie spearheading a unit that had erased a double-digit deficit and gave the Brooklyn Nets a chance to win late.

When Russell didn’t get off the bench for the final 5:42 of regulation and the entire overtime Wednesday night against the Pistons, you could look at Dinwiddie running wild for 14 points in the fourth quarter in Brooklyn’s come-from-behind win.

But on Friday night against the Houston Rockets, Russell exited the game with 5:17 remaining in the third quarter … and never returned.

Coach Kenny Atkinson’s “hot hand” explanation really doesn’t stand up to scrutiny this time, either. He was asked about it by NetsDaily’s Anthony Puccio in the wake of the loss.

Caris LeVert was playing well, scoring 10 of his career-high 29 points in the fourth quarter.

But Dinwiddie, who played more than any Nets guard in the fourth quarter — 10 minutes — was anything but a hot hand. Dinwiddie was 1-for-7 in the fourth, missing all five of his 3-point attempts, and didn’t contribute an assist to the effort, either.

Russell was asked by Bryan Fonseca of NetsDaily about it after the game and took the high road.

Russell had the fewest minutes of any Brooklyn starter Friday night, 22, and sat the final 17 minutes. And, to nit pick Atkinson’s math, Russell has finished six of nine games this season — 67 percent, which is a long, long way from “90 percent.”

Dinwiddie and Russell are both in contract years, with Russell set for restricted free agency at season’s end after his rookie deal was not extended. Dinwiddie can become an unrestricted free agent and can’t sign an extension until Dec. 8.

Have the Nets made up their mind on Russell? Did his late turnover in New Orleans a week ago cause Atkinson to lose his trust in the fourth-year point guard in crunch time?

Russell doesn’t help his case here with a third straight sub-par shooting performance. Russell scored 12 points Friday on 5-of-14 shooting, including 1-for-5 from deep, and had three assists.

Even so, the “hot-hand” defense doesn’t fly this time and now fans are left to wonder whether or not there is a major change in the offing at the 1 spot.