In a game between two struggling teams, the Brooklyn Nets (6-17) face the Los Angeles Lakers (10-17) Wednesday at the Barclays Center. But while both teams look to get back on track as group, focus will also be on the return from injury of their respective starting point guards – Jeremy Lin and D’Angelo Russell.
Jeremy Lin returned from a strained left hamstring Monday against the Houston Rockets, scoring 10 points (4-8 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 1-4 FT) while also tallying three rebounds and seven assists in 20 minutes of play. He made his return to the lineup after missing the previous 17 games. D’Angelo Russell, for his part, recently made his return to the court Sunday against the New York Knicks. He struggled mightily in his first outing back, hitting just one of his eight shots and committing four turnovers. He bounced back Monday against the Sacramento Kings, scoring 17 points, two rebounds and four assists in the Los Angeles Laker loss.
“I felt like I’ve got to do a better job of getting a better shot. But I think for me and our whole team, we played aggressive, we played confident, we played to win, and I’m OK with that,” Jeremy Lin said following their tightly-contested loss to the Houston Rockets. Lin had a chance to give the Brooklyn Nets the lead with 18.9 seconds left but missed a three pointer that would have put them up by two.
D’Angelo Russell had a strong first half against the Sacramento Kings, scoring 10 points and looking much more comfortable in his second game back from injury. He has missed 12 games this season, including 11 straight before coming back to the lineup. The Los Angeles Lakers have lost nine of the 12 games he has missed.
The Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers have both won just two of their last 10 games. The Nets come into the game losing two straight games, while the injury riddle Lakers are in the midst of a seven-game slide.
