Brooklyn Nets: Spencer Dinwiddie fits next to D’Angelo Russell

With D’Angelo Russell back in the fold for the Brooklyn Nets, it will become necessary for him and Spencer Dinwiddie to coexist.

After losing Jeremy Lin for the rest of the season, it was almost assumed that the Brooklyn Nets season was going to be abysmal.

Then Spencer Dinwiddie happened.

Dinwiddie’s story starts way before his Nets tenure, when he was drafted in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons.

Unfortunately, he never caught on with Detroit’s Andre Drummond-plus-shooters system. Stan Van Gundy’s philosophy was too rigid for Dinwiddie, and he wasn’t given any freedom. This square-peg-in-a-round-hole fit caused him to bounce between Detroit and the D-League.

That didn’t faze him one bit.

His time to shine came when the Nets needed guard depth last season, and he took the bull by the horns. He used his savvy passing chops to earn a multi-year contract with the Nets by December. In only 59 games, he achieved the third-most win shares on the roster.

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This season, he has exploded in Lin’s absence, averaging 13.4 points and 6.4 assists on only 1.5 turnovers per game. That assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third in the entire association, behind players who get significantly less tick than he does.

In a system where mistakes are bound to happen due to the high pace, Dinwiddie commits very few. His smart play and good size for a guard (6’6″) allow him to stay in the lineup with another ball-handler.

Russell will be able to share the facilitating duties with Dinwiddie, and do some more off-ball work than a traditional point guard. He’s a scorer at heart, so this fits well with his skill-set.

Simultaneously, Dinwiddie will be tasked with less responsibility. This could lead to even better efficiency when he has the ball, since the efforts will be more concentrated. He will also be allowed to develop his scoring and off-ball skills more, which expands his capabilities in Kenny Atkinson’s offense.

The maximum potential of a tandem like this sounds familiar, doesn’t it? A precision passer paired with a dual-threat scorer and play-maker sounds a lot like the Houston Rockets.

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Obviously it’s unlikely that we see that good of a pairing in Brooklyn anytime soon. But the potential of both playmakers, the framework around them (shooters), and the system as a whole all are promising signs as the Nets try to climb their way back to legitimacy.

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