OKLAHOMA CITY — In his Brooklyn encore, Spencer Dinwiddie has been everything, everywhere all at once for these surprising Nets.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn watched Dinwiddie arrive in 2016 as a G-League development project and leave as a proven NBA player.
Now back a year-and-a-half later, Vaughn has seen even more growth.
From leadership in the locker room to manipulating defenses to punishing endgame matchups, Dinwiddie has matured and become as indispensable a player as the Nets have.
“Yeah it’s been huge, and the biggest thing for me is it’s allowed me the ability to use him to communicate with the rest of the group just because we had a previous relationship,” Vaughn said. “I’ve seen him grow as an individual, as a player and be able to use all those strengths that he has now to help our group maneuver during this time of a new space. … That part has been invaluable.
“It’s part of life: He’s matured and learned more about the NBA, how it exists, the good and bad of different franchises. He’s at a place of realizing what’s really good about Brooklyn, how we appreciate him, his ability to take our team to a different level IQ-wise. He’s managing the game better than I’ve ever seen him before, which I saw him as a younger player so those experiences that he’s going through, playoff experiences really put him in a great space right now.”
Spencer Dinwiddie has done everything for the Nets in his encore. APThat space is leading victories in his last five starts and a contender for Eastern Conference Player of the Week, coming off a career-high 16 assists in Sunday’s win at West-leading Denver.
It was their first statement win since the Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving trades that brought Dinwiddie back and made him both a leader and engine for their attack.
“He lived in the paint. He’s making great decisions. He did a good job of finding everybody and keeping everybody together, especially when they were making a run,” said Dorian Finney-Smith, who arrived from Dallas with Dinwiddie.
“I see it how he goes every day; just a true pro, and he wants to win. He does whatever it takes, and he wants everyone to eat,” Mikal Bridges said. “He just wants to win and make sure everybody’s happy out there.”
Dinwiddie comes into OKC on Tuesday averaging 18.3 points and a career-high 7.6 assists since returning to the Nets.
Following stints in Washington and Dallas, the 29-year-old has returned as a seasoned floor general — and potential long-term answer.
Spencer Dinwiddie has helped the surprising Nets. USA TODAY Sports“When you look at the way the game is played, you get in the first quarter more plays: It’s teams feeling each other out, like a jab with boxers,” Dinwiddie said. “In the second and third you get more uptempo, a little sloppier, you get the transition buckets, the dunks, some more turnovers.
“Then when it gets in the fourth you get to the matchup basketball, where you pick out the people you want to attack … and matchup basketball is typically where I excel.”
It’s where Dinwiddie has gone elephant hunting.
Spencer Dinwiddie drives to the rim during the Nets’ win over the Timberwolves on March 10. APShooting 38.2 percent through the first three quarters for he Nets, Dinwiddie has boosted that to 53.3 percent in the fourth and overtime.
His scoring per 100 possessions has been 18.5, 25.9 and 23.8 in each of the first three quarters for the Nets, but 36.7 in the fourth and a scalding 57.1 in overtime.
And when teams like Denver double the pick-and-roll, he has punished them with the pass.
“In the halfcourt, go elephant hunting, and you’re trying to manipulate the game,” Dinwiddie said. “The coaches want me to get in the paint, let the game dictate what the read is at the time. … The mentality is get in the lane and break down the defense however we’ve got to do it, whether it’s with pace, whether it’s elephant hunting, whether it’s pick-and-roll, whatever it is.
“I’m trying to win the game. I’m not going out there trying to get 30 or whatever it is. If they blitz me and double-team me, boom, I’m going to pass. If they’re going to single coverage, I might shoot more. But everybody has that mentality of, What do I need to do to win?”
