The Brooklyn Nets fell to the Washington Wizards 125-116 on Wednesday night. The Nets were outplayed and out-hustled the entire night, and if it wasn’t for a decent showing in the 4th quarter they would’ve gotten blown out. D’Angelo Russell led the Nets with 28 points, and only Shabazz Napier (22 pts) and Jarrett Allen (12 points) finished with a double digit scoring night. The Nets bench has not been good in recent games, and they desperately need Dinwiddie back to carry the second unit. Caris LeVert was held to 0 points in 20 minutes on Wednesday, as he is still struggling to score when he is on the court the same time as D’Angelo Russell. In my opinion, when Dinwiddie returns coach Kenny Atkinson should put Russell and Dinwiddie together and let LeVert man his own group. Russell and LeVert do not mesh well together, while Russell and Dinwiddie have had better success. All 3 players are ball dominant players so it’s difficult for one of them to act as a shooting guard, but one must accept that role in order for the Nets to be a dangerous team in the East.

Spencer Dinwiddie was one of the leading candidates for sixth man of the year before he got hurt. Dinwiddie is averaging 17.2 ppg and 5 apg while shooting 46.1% from the field. Dinwiddie’s ability to carry the second unit and take some of the load off D’Angelo Russell’s back is greatly missed on this Nets team right now. Shabazz Napier has been playing good, but he is no Spencer Dinwiddie. Shabazz is more of a three point shooter, while Dinwiddie can drive and kick and shoot threes. Dinwiddie is also one of the most clutch finishers in the NBA, as he is tied for the league lead in go ahead buckets in crunch time. Dinwiddie can either drive past you, or hit a step back three in your face. The Nets desperately miss Dinwiddie’s presence on the court, and will hopefully get his return in the next couple of games. Dinwiddie was seen shooting before the Nets game on Wednesday, and coach Kenny Atkinson said that Dinwiddie is very close to returning. Dinwiddie has missed the past 4 weeks (including the all star break), and the Nets have noticed. Spencer last played in a win over the Magic on January 23rd, and since then the Nets are just 6-8. The Nets cannot go on their 7 game road trip without Dinwiddie. Hopefully Dinwiddie can lead the Nets out of their recent funk, and help them secure the 6th seed.

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