Many were left puzzled when the Dallas Mavericks struck a deadline deal with the Washington Wizards centered around Spencer Dinwiddie and Kristaps Porzingis. But ever since joining the team, Dinwiddie has begun to look like his old self in his new stomping grounds.
While the Porzingis era never met the expectations most had when he stepped foot in Dallas in 2019, the 7’3″ stretch big was contributing to a Mavericks defense that has been overhauled by head coach Jason Kidd.
Dallas Mavericks: The Spencer Dinwiddie resurgence in Dallas
The Mavericks elected to get what they could for the player once dubbed “The Unicorn,” taking a chance on a struggling Dinwiddie and a shaky sharpshooter in Davis Bertans.
Through eight games, it is safe to say that the gamble has started to pay off. The Mavericks are 7-1 in games the 28-year old guard appears in, and he’s posted averages of 18.3 points and 4.8 assists per game on .547/.447 shooting splits.
Dinwiddie has been a spark plug sixth man for the Mavericks, but in two starts since his move to Texas, Dinwiddie has posted averages of 29.5 points and 4.5 assists on .486/.438 shooting splits. He’s shown that he can thrive in any role the Mavericks put him in.
While this is a small sample size, Dinwiddie is already producing a lot more than he did in the capital city. In 44 games with the Wizards (all starts), Dinwiddie only averaged 12.6 points and 5.8 assists per game on .376/.310 shooting splits.
Things looked promising for Washington early in the season. They started a franchise-best 10-3 and were looking like a playoff team in early November. And Dinwiddie even looked like a natural fit next to Bradley Beal.
In the months that followed, however, Dinwiddie’s play began to dwindle, and reports started to come out that many shut out his voice in the locker room, thus leading to his trade to Dallas. Once a distressed asset, Dinwiddie is now a crucial part of the puzzle for the Mavs.
Many questioned whether he would be able to play alongside a ball-dominant guard like Luka Doncic, but he has done just that with his newfound ability to space the floor. He’s shooting nearly 45 percent from downtown. He has also held a respectable defensive rating of 112.4 through eight games in Dallas.
This has turned into a great situation for Dinwiddie. He gets the opportunity to create a real rhythm offensively by getting the keys to the second unit, and he’s shown the ability to be a good closing option next to Doncic in the backcourt.
It also has the chance to take pressure off of Doncic, as he now has another reliable isolation player to throw the ball over to and get the Mavs out of a jam when needed.
Having shooters around Luka is essential, but also throwing a player like Dinwiddie into the mix has helped, as he is someone who can create for himself and others. This makes the Mavericks a much tougher team to defend.
Dinwiddie has bought into his role as the sixth man and is flourishing just like he did in his early Brooklyn Nets days. If the early returns become permanent results, Dinwiddie only bolsters Dallas’ chances in a wide-open Western Conference.