ATLANTA — After being shunted off the ball and out of the point guard spot — in a contract year no less — injuries saw the Nets turn to Spencer Dinwiddie to carry their backcourt.
Where have we heard this one before?
Despite being moved to off-guard in favor of Ben Simmons to open the season, injuries to Simmons, Dennis Smith Jr., Cam Thomas and now Lonnie Walker IV have left Brooklyn’s backcourt decimated and desperate.
Just like he did in his first Nets tenure, Dinwiddie has kept it afloat.
“Credit to my teammates. We all have a next-man-up mentality and everybody does a good job of filling in for guys that are out,” said Dinwiddie. “We’re hopeful Ben comes back soon, because obviously we’re a better team at full health.”
They haven’t been close. Wednesday in Atlanta will just be Thomas’ third game back after missing nine straight, Simmons hasn’t played since Nov. 6, and now all signs point to Walker being out the next two weeks.
But in the 11 games since Simmons went down, Dinwiddie’s 3.68 assist-to-turnover ratio was fifth among players who had averaged at least 30 minutes, the free agent-to-be only boosting his stock.
“The human brain loves consistency, and he’s been able to have a consistent role going into every game. I’ll take the blame for the way our team is constructed, the versatility,” Jacque Vaughn admitted. “Some nights the roles would change and he was [impacted] in a bad way by some of that change on a nightly basis.
“But I give Spencer a huge amount of credit for sticking with me and sticking with us and knowing that he’s such a proven veteran in our league that we’d need him in some sort of capacity that might look different at the beginning of the year. I encouraged him to stay with us, we’ll figure this thing out … and now he’s in a really consistent role on a nightly basis.”
Through his first nine games, Dinwiddie averaged a modest 10.7 points and 4.8 assists, a plus-28 with just one 20-point performance.
But with the Nets shorthanded, he’s poured in 19.7 points and 8.2 assists over his last six with four 20-point outings and a plus-72 that ranked second in the NBA.
“Anything in life, if you’re dedicated to it and open and humble enough for it, then you learn and you evolve with every experience,” said Dinwiddie. “It’s like a little baby computer: It’s going to take in information and try to continue to learn and grow. Just wisdom of age, right?”
It’s also the wisdom of experience.
During his first Nets stint, the 2018-19 squad was being led by Caris LeVert and D’Angelo Russell but lost LeVert to a foot injury and slumped to 8-18. But playing on a minimum deal at the time, Dinwiddie averaged 24.4 points to earn a big raise, help Brooklyn win nine of 10 and ultimately reach the postseason.
“This reminds me of when we were 8-18 in 2018, and went on that 9-1 streak and ended up making the playoffs,” Dinwiddie said. “During that 9-1 streak, the plus-minus and the impact on the game and … the advanced stats pointed to somebody having an extreme impact on that 10-game stretch, even though sometimes we have revisionist history on that season and what saved that season. So it looks very familiar to that.
“But this is a collective effort and we’re excited to be able to be in the hunt, be in the fight with everybody that’s been hurt.”
Dinwiddie, 30, is finishing up a three-year, $54 million deal and set to be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
While he might not get the four-year, $128 million extension he’s eligible for, the feeling in league circles is he could exceed Josh Hart’s four years and $81 million.
Dorian Finney-Smith practiced after sitting out Saturday.
But Walker suffered a hamstring injury severe enough to require an MRI and will miss time.
“Lonnie’s situation he will not travel with us to Atlanta and all signs pointing towards him not playing on the West Coast trip (Dec. 9-18),” Vaughn said.