Better shooting by Spencer Dinwiddie would be shot in arm for Nets
The Nets aren’t worried about Spencer Dinwiddie.
Over the past couple of weeks, Dinwiddie has been struggling to make the shots he usually makes. Heading into Wednesday night’s game against the Houston Rockets at Barclays Center, Dinwiddie was shooting just 31.7% over the past eight games with the Nets going 2-6 during that period.
Still, Nets coach Jacque Vaughn is confident that Dinwiddie’s shot will start falling, sooner rather than later.
Vaughn believes a lot of Dinwiddie's struggles have to do with the fact that the Nets are asking him to do a lot of different things, things he didn’t have to do when he was with Dallas before getting traded to the Nets.
“I think overall, you look at his looks, they’ve been pretty good,” Vaughn said. “We've asked him to do a lot, whether that's play 42 minutes one game and carry us offensively [or] guard a pretty good dude on the other end of the floor.
“I think you can just look at the data across the board on our guys playing with us conversely to the teams that they came from. We play faster, we've asked them to do more things on the defensive end of the floor. Different spacing, different opportunities to chill a little bit because somebody else has the basketball in their hands. So you add those things up and the looks are just different at times.”
Dinwiddie’s shooting fell to a new low on Sunday in Orlando when he went 0-for-11 in the loss.
“You know, as far as the Orlando game obviously, you know, I'm not here to make excuses. Just missed shots was a big factor in costing our team a win. . . . But overall just wasn't able to make shots. If I hit four or five shots in that game, obviously, it's a different ballgame.
Dinwiddie knows he has to do better.
“You know, there's nothing about back-to-back fatigue, my arm or anything like that," Dinwiddie said. "You just got to be better and part of being a leader is taking some of those things on the chin and, just like showing up to play every single night no matter how you're feeling."
Center Nic Claxton said he believes everyone goes through rough patches, shooting wise.
“That’s just basketball,” Claxton said. “You’re going to have games where guys miss shots. Even the best shooters have games where they’re not hitting. [Dinwiddie's] been doing a great job of facilitating offense, though. Finding guys, he’s been getting a lot of assists. He definitely keeps our offense afloat.”
Notes and quotes. Vaughn is starting to feel more and more comfortable with giving Day’Ron Sharpe floor time. Said Vaughn: “I think there comes a point in a young guy's career where you have to take things more seriously, where you have to take this as a job. This is your profession. And while we talk and preach about how this is fun, it's still a game but at the same time there's a responsibility that you have and Day'Ron began to grow into his role and understanding how he can impact the team, understanding the work that goes along with that.”…Edmond Sumner was back in the lineup for the Nets Wednesday night. Sumner scored 12 points off the bench in the Nets' win in Miami Saturday night, but also suffered a bruised hip that caused him to miss the loss in Orlando on Sunday.