After not making any trades prior to the deadline this season, the Los Angeles Lakers signed veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie from the buyout market in late February. Dinwiddie had always been a solid ball-handler and facilitator with some ability to hit 3-pointers in catch-and-shoot situations, and it was hoped he would bolster their iffy bench.
For a while, his impact seemed minimal. He had trouble hitting shots, especially from the outside, and he wasn’t playing on the ball much, despite his ability to attack downhill. In his first 13 games with the team, he shot just 33.9% from the field and 30.6% from downtown. It was starting to look like perhaps he was becoming a bust as a Laker.
This week, Dinwiddie made a comment that suggested he perhaps wasn’t happy with his role.
Via Silver Screen and Roll:
“Obviously you do need the generational LeBron, Luka level talent, but after that you are going to need …to be this locked-in focused, dedicated to the goal, dot-connectors, Dinwiddie said. “Sacrificial in mindset and it doesn’t mean not aggressive, it just means, hey, you may have to swing, swing and give up one of your looks and you may only shoot four times, but if you can continue to try to take charge or try to be in the right position and all this stuff, you guys can go far.
“It is technically foreign for me from what I’ve done in my career, but I feel sometimes like I’m on a Reggie Bullock role getting graded on a Spencer scale.”
Dinwiddie’s play seems to have improved lately
Fitting in with a new team at midseason isn’t easy, especially since a player who tries to do so doesn’t have the benefit of training camp and preseason games. But recently, it seems as if Dinwiddie may be settling into his new role on his new team.
In his last three games, he has shot 5-of-9 from 3-point land, and in Friday’s 101-94 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, he went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and scored 11 points in 24 minutes. Two of those treys came in the third quarter, and both were critical. L.A. was fighting back from a seven-point deficit at the time.
The second of those 3-pointers put the Lakers ahead, 71-70, and they never trailed by more than one point again.
After the game, Dinwiddie said he’s trying to increase his efficiency, especially since he doesn’t have the ball as much as he has had it in the past.
Via Lakers Nation:
“Yeah, I’m trying to,” Dinwiddie added. “I think overall, as much as I find my niche and continue to find those extra possessions, I will be able to grab a couple more here and there.
“It wasn’t like a huge change in volume, it wasn’t like I ran 20 to 30 pick-and-rolls or something like that. But yeah, I was glad to get some more possessions and also tried to be as efficient as I possibly can and hopefully my offense can match my defense.”
He also expanded on his comments from the other day.
“And again, when I meant the comments about roles and things like that, I know it kind of went viral the other day, but I’m happy,” Dinwiddie said. “I understood coming here that I was coming to a set in stone team, so I wasn’t making that comment from a standpoint of being upset or anything like that.
“I really was just saying like hey, like, don’t think Spencer ain’t there. But if you want that guy, then that’s what needs to happen. If not, I’m also perfectly comfortable in this role as well.”
The guard’s last three games have brought his overall 3-point efficiency with the Lakers up to a respectable 35.6%. That type of marksmanship will get it done for him.
But Dinwiddie’s defense has perhaps been a bonus. He had the game-winning blocked shot in L.A.’s March 8 win over the Milwaukee Bucks without LeBron James, and on Friday, he got the job done against both Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris of the Sixers.
Head coach Darvin Ham has been confident in Dinwiddie
Ham previously expressed faith that Dinwiddie would find his niche over time, and he repeated that sentiment more recently.
Via Silver Screen and Roll:
“We’ve had full confidence he can do it,” Ham said. “Again, it’s just a matter of him learning his teammates, getting in a rhythm and learning where to be on the floor and just being in attack mode. … He’s just, more and more each game, getting more and more comfortable.
“Everyone around him is encouraging him because we’re going to need him and he’s going to be in the mix. Just for him, be confident and continue to soak up all the information so there’s corporate knowledge and, eventually, it’ll be seamless.”
Davis also said that Dinwiddie needs to play his natural game.
“We constantly preach to him to be himself, to be Spencer Dinwiddie,” Davis added. “Don’t be passive trying to pass the ball looking for guys. That’s what he do but, at the same time, we want him to be aggressive. When he’s open, shoot the ball, attacking the basket, finishing. You can tell he’s getting more and more comfortable at just playing basketball. What he did tonight, we’re going to need from him these last 12 games we have and then more.”
The version of Dinwiddie the Lakers had on Friday is the version of him they’ll need if they are to make the playoffs and do something significant there.
