D'Angelo Russell adds more hustle, leadership in Caris LeVert's absence

DALLAS — Never in a million years would D’Angelo Russell have wished for his good friend Caris LeVert to suffer a dislocated ankle that might keep him out for up to three months. But that is what happened, and instead of sharing the backcourt with budding star LeVert, he suddenly finds himself with the keys to the Nets’ car.

Russell struggled to adjust in the first game without LeVert, but in the three games that followed, he averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 2.6 steals and shot 48.1 percent overall and 42.1 percent from three-point range. He has scored at least 20 points in three straight games for the first time as a Net, and they are 2-1 in those games only because they blew a big lead to the Clippers on Saturday.

Russell’s fourth-quarter play was critical to the Nets’ 104-92 win Tuesday night in Miami, and the fact he had nine rebounds, six assists and four steals to go with his 20-point night underlines how he is hustling at both ends of the court to try and make up for the loss of LeVert.

“We’re in the adjusting process,” Russell said of the Nets’ transition to playing without LeVert’s leadership. “That’s a big loss for us. It forces guys to step up and make plays every night that maybe aren’t used to doing it. I think it’s a challenge for us. We’ll overcome it.”

They are 2-2 without LeVert, 8-10 overall for the season and on the fringe of playoff contention in the Eastern Conference, and they were aiming to win for the first time this season on the second night of a back-to-back set when they faced the Mavericks Wednesday night at American Airlines Center. They were 0-4 in those situations going into the game.

“It’s definitely important, getting over that hump,” Russell said of the Nets’ struggles in back-to-back sets. “We haven’t won any so far. That will be a good challenge for us.”

When LeVert was healthy, he was in the process of establishing himself as the Nets’ go-to guy at crunch time, having already delivered two game-winning shots. But now, Russell is that guy, especially because he is handling the ball so much more rather than splitting those duties with LeVert. The past three games say Russell has made the adjustment and is handling the responsibility of leading the Nets.

“Yeah, but I think we can take it to another level defensively, the offense can be more fluent, there’s a lot of things we can definitely touch on,” Russell said of their progress. “But right now, in a few games without him, we have complete different units out there that are playing together. I think it’s a positive.”

When LeVert went down just over a week ago at Minnesota, it rocked the Nets’ world. They were shaken by the sight of his ankle splayed grotesquely and by the thought of having to get by without him for a large chunk of the season, but it seems the Nets are making that mental adjustment.

“Man, it’s tough losing a guy like Caris, everything he does,” Rondae Hollis-Jefferson said. “It’s definitely tough. But we’ve also got to have the mindset of next man up and be ready when your name is called. I feel like we’re doing a good job of making that transition and that switch. Just keep progressing and keep growing.”

The next step is performing better in the second game of a back-to-back set, but they have been getting closer there, too. “Our last back-to-back, we were pretty good,” veteran DeMarre Carroll said. “We just gave the [Clippers] game away. We’ve just got to learn how to finish. Once we do that, we can start moving towards bigger and better things.”

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.