Detroit Pistons: Spencer Dinwiddie Is Earning More Playing Time

By Aaron Ferguson | Nov 16, 2015

Mar 18, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Spencer Dinwiddie (8) drives past Philadelphia 76ers forward Jerami Grant (39) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 94-83. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

The Detroit Pistons have been struggling to find a scoring threat off their bench, but guard Spencer Dinwiddie is proving that he should be getting more playing time.

Dinwiddie, 22, played with aggressiveness in his second appearance of the season in Sunday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He scored 17 points off the bench in the 97-85 loss to cap a 2-4 road trip.

While the Pistons have relied heavily on Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, Dinwiddie provided relief and allowed Jackson to get some much-needed rest. Dinwiddie allowed the Pistons to keep the game close against the Lakers until Jackson returned to the lineup.

Dinwiddie’s 17 points were his second-best showing of his career. It was second only to a 20-point performance against the Washington Wizards last season. In 24 minutes, Dinwiddie shot 6-of-9 from the field and was aggressive to get to the free throw line, something the Pistons were not doing well.

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In his rookie season, Dinwiddie appeared in 34 games and averaged 13.5 minutes per game. His 20-point performance came in a game where he played 24 minutes, like Sunday’s 17-point performance. He appeared in four games last season in which he played more than 20 minutes and in those games he averaged 12.8 points per game.

Dinwiddie struggled last season and shot 30.2 percent from the field. After being selected in the second round of the 2013 NBA Draft, he was a low-risk, high-reward selection. He is proving to show improvement by shooting 70 percent in his first two games this season. He’s shown aggressiveness, which allowed himself to get fouled and earn his way to the free throw line.

Sunday night’s showcase proved that he could create his own shot, which is something that no player on the bench has proven this year. Dinwiddie tied with Drummond as the team’s leading scorer with 17 points. He also led the team in free throw attempts with five of the team’s 15 total free throw attempts. He was also one of two players that had a positive plus-minus rating, and was the only player to do so off the bench.

The Pistons are on a four-game losing streak and need to make some sort of change. Dinwiddie could provide a spark to the lineup with an increased role and head coach Stan Van Gundy is in a position to change his lineups.

Dinwiddie provides the Pistons an opportunity to have him play alongside Jackson with the starting lineups. He has the height (6’6″) to play the shooting guard position. He can create shots with the ball in his hands and is athletic enough to create mismatches at the shooting guard position.

Detroit could also mix Dinwiddie in as the point guard and pair him with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to create an athletic mismatch. Pairing those two would allow Dinwiddie to drive and kick out to Caldwell-Pope as a three-point shooter. Caldwell-Pope can also drive and create shots for Dinwiddie.

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Dinwiddie’s performance has given the Pistons new options by showing he can be an important part of the team’s game plan. He can fill the void of another shot creator to come off the bench and create shots for himself and his teammates. The Pistons now have an opportunity to allow Dinwiddie to grow into a new role and have an impact on the team’s success.

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