Spencer Dinwiddie excelling as Nets' sixth man
The Nets' Spencer Dinwiddie dishes off a pass during the second quarter against the Rockets at Barclays Center on Friday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
DALLAS — It’s early to start talking about NBA awards, but Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle dropped the name of backup Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie into the hat for the Sixth Man honor before the Mavs faced the Nets Wednesday night at American Airlines Center.
Dinwiddie finished third in the Most Improved player voting last season when he played well in place of injured starters Jeremy Lin and D’Angelo Russell, but his play dropped off toward the end of the season after Russell regained the starting job. But the way Russell and Dinwiddie have teamed this season to lead the first and second units and sometimes play together, it’s as if the Nets always have a top-notch point guard on the floor.
“They have great playmaking on that team,” Carlisle said. “[Caris] LeVert is out, and that’s a big loss. But Russell has stepped up his game in a major way this year. And Dinwiddie off the bench . . . he’ll be a Sixth Man of the Year candidate I would think.”
LeVert was the Nets’ leading scorer at 18.4 points per game when he suffered a dislocated ankle. Russell is averaging 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 27.9 minutes per game, and Dinwiddie is averaging 14.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 27.7 minutes.
Asked how Dinwiddie has adapted to his bench role, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said, “He’s accepted it, he’s embraced it, he’s never complained about not starting. There’s never been a question. I did think we might have an issue, like, ‘Hey, man, I played really well in preseason, I’ve been great in camp, I want to start.’ There has been none of that.
“Last year we had some issues with that. In the second half of the season, I didn’t think he embraced it. So, for him to come into the season with that mindset and embrace it, it’s great to hear Rick, a legendary coach, giving him a compliment like that. That’s pretty cool.”
Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.
