With the NBA off on Thanksgiving, the Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie got in the spirit of the holiday by being grateful for the chance the team has given him.
The Nets plucked Dinwiddie out of the G League and developed him, and the 24-year-old point guard has repaid them with a breakthrough season at the position they need most. He has stepped in for injured Jeremy Lin and D’Angelo Russell with the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA among qualified players.
“That’s a credit to the coaching staff and the job coach Kenny Atkinson is doing,” Dinwiddie said. “But honestly, them just kind of telling me and be aggressive when I’m out there and just kind of setting the tone for how they want me to play, and more minutes just means more opportunities.”
“It’s a blessing, and I’ve been fortunate. That’s really all I can say. I’ve been fortunate to make shots, fortunate to make plays. It’s a blessing I ended up in this situation, and you get more comfortable with experience. That’s really it.”
After a 10-assist performance Wednesday’s loss at Cleveland, Dinwiddie’s 5.05 assist-to-turnover ratio topped all qualified players. He has averaged 15.5 points per game and 7.5 assists in six starts, and he has been even better since Russell got hurt.
In four starts since Russell suffered a knee injury, Dinwiddie has averaged 16.5 points, 9.3 assists and just 1.5 turnovers. With Lin out for the season and Russell sidelined indefinitely, Dinwddie has grown into the job — all while still on the Nets’ only non-guaranteed deal, making him one of the league’s best bargains.
“Game by game, he keeps getting better and more comfortable and more aggressive,” Atkinson said. “In the beginning, when we first had him, he lacked an aggressiveness, a confidence. [He was] borderline timid in everything he did. Now it’s just great. That’s what’s great about development, watching a young guy grow.You see he’s gaining more confidence. He’s stepping his game up. We need him to continue to be a force defensively, too. It’s a lot of responsibility, but with his size and athleticism, he’s got to do it on both ends. That’s a challenge for him.”
The Nets host the Trail Blazers on Friday at noon.
“As a team, we don’t want to have a lapse now against Portland in terms of our focus and our competitiveness,” Atkinson said. “I think if we come out with the same type of focus, same type of competitiveness, I think we’ll have chance against a really good team that’s coming into the Barclays Center.”
Not all the players sounded overjoyed about the early tipoff.
“I don’t know why we got a noon tipoff,” DeMarre Carroll said. “Hey, this is what we get paid to do. Just show up and be ready.”
Trevor Booker has been listed as probable for Friday as he recovers from a sprained ankle.