D'Angelo

Russell

Russell will miss a fifth-straight game to close out the season for Brooklyn. Reece Beekman (calf) and Tyson Etienne are both candidates to play significant roles for the shorthanded Nets.

Russell will not travel with the team for Friday’s game. Reece Beekman should remain in the starting lineup, with Tyson Etienne playing rotation minutes off the bench. And that may be Brooklyn’s point guard rotation for Sunday’s finale against the Knicks, as Russell has only appeared in eight games since March 13.

Beekman started Sunday’s game for D’Angelo Russell, who was held out with a sore right ankle. The undrafted rookie out of Virginia was solid, and his value moving forward depends on Russell’s availability. The Nets aren’t going to the playoffs, so Beekman may have another opportunity to start during the final week of the regular season. Brooklyn plays four games during Week 23, beginning with the Pelicans on Tuesday.

Claxton and Russell’s absences open up two spots in the Nets’ starting lineup for Sunday’s game. Drew Timme is a possible replacement for the former, while Tyrese Martin could be asked to fill in for the latter. Whoever starts will be worth streaming in deep leagues, even with Sunday’s schedule consisting of 11 games.

The only other update that head coach Jordi Fernandez provided was that they haven’t made a decision on D’Angelo Russell’s status for their matchup with Toronto, though he is still dealing with soreness in his ankle. Depending on that statuses of Jalen Wilson and Ziaire Williams, Trendon Watford and Maxwell Lewis could be in line for another starting nod.

Russell missed last Saturday’s game with an ankle injury but had a nice game in his return against the Mavericks on Monday with 18 points, five rebounds and 11 assists. The 29-year-old point guard had a terrible game against the Timberwolves Thursday. Seemingly out of nowhere, Russell was held without points as he missed all six of his field goal attempts. He played just 13 minutes, which had to do with his effectiveness and not his ankle injury. Russell will look to bounce back Sunday against the Raptors.

No surprise here as Russell was initially listed as probable with right ankle soreness. The 29-year-old point guard missed last Saturday’s game against the Wizards, but returned Monday against the Mavericks and had a double-double. He appears to be mostly over the ankle issue at this point.

Russell is dealing with a sore right ankle, but the probable tag suggests he will be available on Thursday. If not, Tyrese Martin is most likely to enter the starting lineup. Martin has not been a great streamer when allowed to start, but he would be worth a look in deep leagues on one of the lighter game days of Week 22.

After missing Saturday’s game against Washington with the ankle injury that has had him in and out of the lineup often recently, Russell was back in the lineup and had one of his best games since January. This was his first double-double since January 21 and his most assists in a game since he had 12 on January 2, which was his second game during this stint with the Nets. Russell’s availability will continue to be a headache, but this was a solid performance for the veteran.

Russell will sit out the second night of Brooklyn’s back-to-back, and Tyrese Martin started in place of Russell during his most recent absence. Martin should return to the starting unit on Saturday, but he isn’t an appealing streaming option in standard leagues.