On Saturday, Spencer Dinwiddie led the Brooklyn Nets to another victory.
This time, Dinwiddie scored 39 points, dished out six assists and grabbed six rebounds in a win over the Atlanta Hawks. Dinwiddie was struggling through three quarters of play, but he came alive in the fourth quarter when the Nets outscored the Hawks 37-14 to come back from being down by double figures.
Dinwiddie had 16 points, three rebounds and two assists in the fourth quarter alone. One of those assists set DeAndre Jordan up for a monster dunk that cut Atlanta's lead to a point with just over seven minutes to play.
SD to DJ 💥
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 22, 2019
Your @MaimonidesMC Play of the Game 🎥 pic.twitter.com/BCK5ETGiUC
The Nets started the season out slow, but they've found their stride lately despite not having their leading scorer in Kyrie Irving, who has been sidelined since Nov. 16 with a shoulder injury. Dinwiddie has started in place of the six-time All-Star in each of the games he has missed while posting averages of 26.1 points, 7.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds on 44.5 percent shooting from the field.
The only players in the league who have averaged more points than Dinwiddie since his promotion to the starting lineup are LeBron James (26.8), Bradley Beal (26.9), Anthony Davis (29.3), Luka Doncic (29.7), Trae Young (29.9), Giannis Antetokounmpo (32.6) and James Harden (38.3). He also ranks highly in assists, trailing only 12 players, four of which are Harden (7.3), Young (8.1), Doncic (8.6) and James (10.3).
That begs the question: Should Dinwiddie make the All-Star team this season?
Much could change between now and when voting ends, but Dinwiddie is putting together quite a case.
Not only does he have the individual numbers, he has the team success. The Nets have won 12 of the 18 games Dinwiddie has started in, which has helped them go from having a losing record to having the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference.
The Nets have had some solid wins during that stretch as well.
To name a few: Dinwiddie had a 32-point, 11-assist double-double in a win over the Boston Celtics at the end of November.
Spencer Dinwiddie went off for 32 PTS and 11 AST in a win over the Celtics 😳 pic.twitter.com/UdU3k9hNsy
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) November 29, 2019
He was then the team's leading scorer in both of their wins over the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers this month with 24 points in each game.
🗣 SPENCE. CLUTCH.@SDinwiddie_25's go-ahead bucket is your @MaimonidesMC Play of the Game 🎥 pic.twitter.com/Trh0v4P4WR
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 8, 2019
Prior to all those games, he hit a game-winner against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Spencer Dinwiddie nails the game-winner over the Cavs 🔥🔥#WeGoHard pic.twitter.com/dseVMMvtMz
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 26, 2019
And more recently, Dinwiddie scored a career-high 41 points, only it came in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Spencer Dinwiddie dropped a career-high 41 points against the Spurs! 🔥#WeGoHard pic.twitter.com/wBFQ0B7Tab
— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 20, 2019
Ultimately, Dinwiddie faces an uphill battle to make his first All-Star team when you account for what players like Young, Beal, Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Jaylen Brown and Ben Simmons are doing. He might even face competition from Irving, who is almost certainly going to be a popular vote among fans even though he's missed a lot of time.
But if he and the Nets can keep this up, Dinwiddie is going to give voters a lot to think about.
Don't just take my word for it...
Spencer Dinwiddie was pumped to have Kobe Bryant sitting court-side tonight to see him drop 39 points. Said they chatted pregame, Kobe told him he was playing like an All-Star. “We’re best friends,” Dinwiddie joked.
— Greg Joyce (@GJoyce9) December 22, 2019
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