Getty Royce O'Neale #00 and Spencer Dinwiddie #26 of the Brooklyn Nets.
Things have clicked for Brooklyn Nets star Spencer Dinwiddie.
“I think I’m settling into my role with this group,” he told reporters via the Nets’ YouTube channel after Brooklyn’s 123-114 victory over the Houston Rockets on March 29. “Understanding what we need in terms of getting in the paint, trying to get guys going all that stuff…It’s a process: We’re all learning each other, we’re all trying to get everything down pat. And, as being kind of the older guy you want to read the game. And if they’re hitting shots, it’s my job to pass the ball. And, if they’re not, I got to be a little more aggressive. Because at the end of the day, the name of the game is to win. So just trying to read that at all times.”
Dinwiddie finished with 20 points and 11 assists giving him his sixth double-double in the last 10 games and his seventh overall as a Net.
It’s the seventh time he has had at least 10 assists during that window too.
He is averaging 16.7 points and 10.4 assists with 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in that span. Perhaps even more impressive, it comes on the heels of his two-point, five-assist dud in the loss to the Orlando Magic on March 26, for which he shouldered responsibility.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn certainly appreciated that and his efforts of late.
Jacque Vaughn applauds Spencer Dinwiddie’s performance tonight.
“I’m old,” Dinwiddie deadpanned. “One bad game, it is what it is. You got to get in the gym, put up a couple extra shots, and just refocus. It’s unfortunate I can’t seem to put together a game that I made both my shots and my free throws. But that’s got to be coming at some point.”
His playmkaing has certainly come around from the start of his second Nets stint and even his first during which he blossomed into a 20-point-per-game scorer. Dinwiddie averaged 17.6 points, 6.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.2 steals over his first 11 games this time around. It was 20.6 points with 6.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds at his Nets peak during the 2019-2020 season.
He credits his teammates for making that transition an easy one.
Closed on an 18-4 run 🔥
Spencer Dinwiddie Praises Nets’ Shooters
“We have great shooters in general,” he said. “Royce [O’Neale], the guy has knocked it down his career. [Dorian Finney-Smith], [Cameron Johnson] obviously, and Joe [Harris] are kind of historically great three-point shooters. So you think at some point the tide will turn, and hopefully this fourth quarter was the start of that.
Brooklyn went 8-for-24 from beyond the arc through three quarters, a large part of the reason they entered the fourth quarter trailing the lowly Rockets by one point.
They went 9-for-11 from deep in the final frame, outscoring Houston 37-27.
“There’s no excuse for how we played the first 40 minutes of the game, but it’s on us to be better.”
– Cam Johnson
Johnson and O’Neale sunk six of those on seven tries. Mikal Bridges hit both of his looks from outside too.
“We feed off each other, we feed off the crowd” O’Neale said via the Yes Network on YouTube. “We’re great three-point shooters, that’s what we got to do: space the floor. And, I mean, we trust each other to keep knocking them down.”
Dinwiddie knows he’s not racking up the assists without that trust.
Nic Claxton Catches Friendly Fire From Spencer Dinwiddie
“Obviously, anytime you get an assist it’s because your team is making shots,” he said before sending a friendly shot to big man Nic Claxton. “Except for lobs because those are easy. So don’t give Nic no credit.
Claxton tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, and two assists in as well-rounded performance as he has had since the deadline.
And not all of those points came off lobs.
Major rack attack 💥
It is Claxton’s 26th double-double of the season, 22nd-most in the NBA. But it is just his fifth since the trade deadline after he racked up 10 double-doubles in a 13-game span from January 15 to February 7.
Despite that and Dinwiddie’s tongue-in-cheek remarks, Claxton’s future remains bright as ever if not simply more defined as to what he needs around him to be successful.
It seems to be the same thing as the team in general: shooters.