Sports

Kyrie Irving’s eventual Nets return could include Spencer Dinwiddie twist

Spencer Dinwiddie has been stellar subbing for Kyrie Irving as a starter. Maybe he’ll join him as one when the All-Star returns.

It was fittingly Dinwiddie who led Brooklyn to a 103-101 victory over the Knicks before 18,770 at the Garden. He has been leading them ever since Irving went down with a shoulder impingement more than a week ago.

“Difference-maker right now,” Kenny Atkinson said of Dinwiddie. “They were double-teaming him all night. … He did a good job getting it out, exploiting the mismatch. What he’s also doing, he’s doing it on both ends, on the defensive end, too. … He’s playing really good basketball.”

Dinwiddie poured in a game-high 30 points to help the Nets win a third straight and stake his candidacy to start alongside Irving.





The Nets are 4-1 since Irving joined Caris LeVert and Kevin Durant on the sidelines. And Dinwiddie has been stellar in place of Irving, averaging 25 points and 6.2 assists since joining the lineup, topping 20 points in a career-high five straight games.

“The role just changes, like an amoeba. Sometimes it’s defense, sometimes it’s going to be scoring,” Dinwiddie said. “Obviously usage rate is probably through the roof right now because Kyrie is out, Caris and obviously the monster is going to be back probably next season. For now my job is to do this, and then it’ll shift when they get back.”

But what if he doesn’t shift to the bench when Irving gets back?





Irving has been ruled out of the next two games against his former teams: Monday in Cleveland and Wednesday in Boston. The earliest he could conceivably return is Friday’s rematch versus the Celtics — and Atkinson floated the idea of keeping Dinwiddie in the lineup.

That would mean playing both lead guards together and sending Garrett Temple or Joe Harris to the bench.

“Kyrie is still learning exactly what we want to do. Spencer’s got a little more corporate knowledge,” Atkinson said. “It’s going to take time for Kyrie to completely understand what we’re doing on both sides of the ball. That being said, for not understanding, he’s been pretty darn good.





“So it just gives us a lot of different options. I think about Spencer playing so well right now, when Kyrie comes back what does that look like? Is Spencer coming to start? You have [Temple] with the defense. There’s a lot [of options] … which is a good problem to have.”

For his part, Dinwiddie said Atkinson hadn’t mentioned the possibility to him, and frankly, he seemed surprised at the question. But he said starter or sixth man was far less important than wins or losses.

“I’m not the coach, man. I don’t make those decisions. If that’s the new role, then that’s what I’ll do. If it’s not, it’s not,” Dinwiddie said. “I don’t really care about the starting [or] coming off the bench. If we’re winning, championship-type level, I’m going to be real happy. If we’re getting our heads cracked, I’m not going to be real happy, and that’s starting or coming off the bench. It’s pretty simple for me.”





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