The one positive that came out of the Nets’ loss to the Trail Blazers on Wednesday night was Spencer Dinwiddie.
The guard scored 19 points with seven assists and was a team-high plus-12 after enduring a slump since taking over the starting point guard role in Ben Simmons’ absence.
Early on he seemed to fill the void left by the injury-prone Simmons, leading Brooklyn to a 13-10 start while averaging 14.7 points and four assists and shooting 40.1 percent.
However, things took a turn. In the three games prior to Wednesday, Dinwiddie averaged 3.3 points on 3-for-15 shooting.
He also saw his minutes cut short in the game against Miami, with Dennis Smith Jr. and Cam Thomas recording 32 and 31 minutes off the bench, respectively.
The Nets have shown interest in the Hawks’ Dejounte Murray as a possible solution for their point-guard dilemma, but Dinwiddie earned some brownie points thanks to this breakthrough against the Trail Blazers.
“I thought overall, his ability to get downhill, thought he was seeing the floor very well tonight,” head coach Jacque Vaughn said. “Just ran the basketball, getting us organized. But, he has the ability to get downhill, to get to the rim, [and to] draw fouls, which he was able to tonight. It was good to see him aggressive, and in the flow and playing to his capabilities.”
Mikal Bridges is listed as probable with a right shin contusion for Friday night’s game against the Lakers.
He collided Thursday night with Jabari Parker in the third quarter, sending Bridges to the sidelines.
Day’Ron Sharpe (left knee hyperextension), Simmons (left lower-back nerve impingement) and Dariq Whitehead (left shin stress reaction) are out for Friday.
Lonnie Walker IV will continue to have limited minutes “at least” for the remainder of the trip, Vaughn said after the loss.
The guard has been slowly working his way back after a 17-game absence due to a hamstring injury.
On Wednesday, he played a little under 19 minutes and scored 13 points.