Well, Spencer Dinwiddie had a good time on Sunday night.
For the preseason opener against the Washington Wizards, the guard was slotted into the first Brooklyn Nets starting lineup to feature both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and it was a good place to be.
“Stress-free,” said Dinwiddie of life on the hardwood with the two All-NBA stars. “That’s the best I can put it. I’m trying to win, so if you can throw it to either one of them and get a bucket, and then you get the third defender, fourth defender trying to check you, and you’re like, ‘Alright, I guess I’ll go score now.’ Stress-free. This is fun. This is good for my health. I need this type of situation.”
He may get more of it.
One of the items still to be sorted out as the Nets close in on their Dec. 22 season-opener against the Golden State Warriors will be who starts alongside Kyrie Irving in the backcourt. Both Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert can fit as either starters or as a lead guard with the second unit.
Dinwiddie’s start on Sunday didn’t necessarily offer a hint as to who would be in the lineup for the opener. A patella contusion took LeVert out of the action entirely against the Wizards.
LeVert started Brooklyn’s first nine games last season before a thumb injury sidelined him for two months. He came off the bench for a month after returning in January, and after returning to the starting lineup in February, LeVert closed the 2019-20 season playing at an All-Star level, averaging 24.3 points and 5.7 assists over his final 22 games.
But with Irving and Durant returning to take the frontline roles, Nets head coach Steve Nash acknowledged the idea of LeVert coming off the bench to take a lead role with the second unit was an idea with some upside.
“Still working through it,” said Nash. “Caris is a starter. Will he start for us? I’m not sure yet. He’s so good with the ball in his hands that there’s a case to be made that he plays that [Manu] Ginobili role. He’s clearly a starter. Manu played in All-Star Games. Start on the bench and run the second unit, closed games. So we’ll see how it goes. It’s a great luxury to have. There is a thought though that he could have more reps with the ball in his hands if he captains the second unit for two stretches in a game, then plays with the starters at moments or to close. All that stuff is to be figured out but it’s great decisions for a coach to have.”
As for Dinwiddie, he’s slid seamlessly between roles over his four years in Brooklyn, a chameleon adaptable to whatever the team needs. Twice in the past three years, injuries opened up a significant starting role. The first time around, he elevated his game enough to be a finalist for the league’s Most Improved Player award. Last season, he averaged career highs of 20.6 points and 6.8 assists while starting 49 of his 64 games, leading the Nets in both categories.
In between, Dinwiddie was second in the league in both points and assists off the bench behind Sixth Man of the Year award winner Lou Williams in 2018-19.
“I feel like I’ve always viewed myself as a starter, even when y’all were laughing at me three years ago or whatever it was,” said Dinwiddie. “But whatever role it takes, you always want to do whatever it takes to maximize the win and try to make the collective the best possible. A well-rounded game, whatever it was across the stat sheet, is kind of my position on this team now.”
With Durant and Irving on board, Dinwiddie isn’t going to lead Brooklyn in scoring again. So he filled out the box score on Sunday night, with seven assists and six rebounds to go with 10 points, and got to the line for six free throws in just 25 minutes. His 7.0 free throws per game last season were 13th in the NBA.
“Spencer’s a talented player but he can also play the game quite simply, which is great,” said Nash. “He doesn’t overcomplicate things, he can play off the ball, he can play on the ball, he can make plays for his teammates, he can guard multiple positions. So I thought Spencer was great out there tonight, I thought he gave us a lift in certain moments where we needed to up the pace and force. And he has lot of versatility, he does a lot of different things for us, so he did great.”
"between" - Google News
December 14, 2020 at 11:15PM
https://ift.tt/37fPxdC
Spencer Dinwiddie Likes Life Between Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant - Brooklynnets.com
"between" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2WkNqP8
https://ift.tt/2WkjZfX
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Spencer Dinwiddie Likes Life Between Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant - Brooklynnets.com"
Post a Comment