D'Angelo Russell failing to check in may be NBA gaffe of the year
There will undoubtedly be more dumbfounding moments in the NBA this season, but it's going to be difficult to top D'Angelo Russell's gaffe in the Timberwolves-Suns game Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
Russell was set to re-enter the game in the second quarter but he stayed at the scorer's table, frozen like a video game while the rest of the world kept going.
The Wolves had four players on the court when Jaylen Nowell knocked shot free throws. Russell just stood at the scorer's table, waiting to check in – and he continued to stand there while four teammates played an entire defensive possession that ended with the Suns grabbing an offensive rebound and burying a 3 to take an 11-point lead.
You can see Russell rush onto the court just as Torrey Craig hit a 3-pointer to end the 4-on-5 possession. Here's the video.
It appears that Russell may have thought he was supposed to check in for Nowell, who was shooting free throws. But he was actually replacing Taurean Prince, who had already taken a seat on the bench.
"We knew what happened," Russell said after the game, per the Star Tribune. "I mean, that's all I got."
Head coach Chris Finch didn't have an answer: "I have no idea."
"It's just a sign of a team that's lacking a little bit of confidence and purpose right now," said Finch.
Russell scored 20 points in the loss but his numbers don't pass the eye test of a player making $31.3 million. He's averaging 14.0 points and 5.7 assists – both his lowest since he was a 21-year-old with the Nets in 2017-18 – and is shooting 31.5% from 3 and 38.3% overall.
The Suns beat the Wolves 129-117.
Related: It's not time to sound the alarm on the Timberwolves
