2. When Russell went cold, he went all the way
D’Angelo Russell could not have been much hotter to open the game against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. He scored the first five points for the Brooklyn Nets, hitting a runner and a 3-pointer to get the night off to a fast start.
In the first seven minutes and change, Russell went for 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting before being subbed out.
When Russell came back into the game, his shot had already gone to the dressing room. Russell was just 1-for-10 the rest of the night, finishing with 12 points in 22 minutes.
He did have five assists and two steals, but he got hung up on screens more than he has the last few games, which left Quinn Cook — starting for Golden State in place of injured Stephen Curry — a lot of wide-open looks.
It was a tough shooting night at times, particularly from deep (where Russell ended 1-for-5) for many of the Nets, but Russell’s loss of touch after being taken out in the first quarter was particularly dramatic.
Part of the reason was a change in defensive tactics by the Warriors late in the first quarter (more on that in a bit) that effectively killed Brooklyn’s ball movement.