Kidd: Russell is not in the lineup to keep us in contention, he needs to find a rhythm
6686 Sports News on October 25th In the regular season that ended today, the Mavericks lost to the Wizards 107-117 at the home team and suffered two consecutive losses at the beginning.
After the game, Kidd talked about the use of Russell. When asked why Russell was not played in the second half tonight, Kidd replied: "I think the group of players that brought us back into the game is the lineup that we are going to continue to use, and he is not in that group of players."
On what changes Russell made to get more playing time : "I think he needs to find a rhythm and understand that he got some good shots and they just didn't go in. We have Brandon Williams and Nembuhard and we're diligent about figuring out who we can play early in the season. Understanding the depth that we have at this position right now, we have Shorthanded. Everybody gets another chance to prove themselves on Sunday." Anthony Davis was asked if there would be any challenges playing without a true No. 1, and he said: "No, I mean, like I said, the only challenge I see is that. The opponent pressed us all over the court, which may be different for me, but that's really the only thing. Our attack started a little late, and there was not much time left on the timer."
In this game, Russell played 8 minutes, made 0 of 3 shots, and scored 1 point, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists. In the first two games, Russell only got 24 minutes.