Nets coach compares D’Angelo Russell to James Harden

D’Angelo Russell is having a breakout season for the surprising Brooklyn Nets, which has his head coach duly impressed.

Russell scored 31 points and made 7 of 14 threes in the Nets’ 123-94 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday. After their win, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson compared Russell to James Harden for some of his three-point shooting.

Brooklyn Nets coach Kenny Atkinson on D'Angelo Russell: "Those pull-up threes are something. Those are (James) Harden-esque." pic.twitter.com/ZMo7ioDbDb

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) January 22, 2019

Nobody is going to say that Russell is as good as Harden, but some of his shots seem right out of Harden’s playbook.

Russell is up to 19 points, 6.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Most impressively, he’s shooting .437/.374/.810, which are the best marks of his career. He’s stepping up this year.