Kyrie Irving's return will naturally put an end to Spencer Dinwiddie's run as the Brooklyn Nets' starting point guard and alpha dog.
But even after losing the prestige and the minutes that come with it, Dinwiddie doesn't think he'll go from All-Star candidate to irrelevant with Irving back on the floor. He'll still get his numbers, but he also knows the chances of winning go up:
“I’d rather average 21 and win at a high level [compared to] 25 and getting my head cracked every night,” Dinwiddie told Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. “I don’t view his coming back as, ‘Now I’m gonna average two points a game.’ I’ll still be productive. It gives our group a chance to win a lot more games.”
Dinwiddie was averaging 15 points per game before Irving suffered his shoulder injury. He has ramped that up to a beefy 22.1 points and 6.4 assists per game on the season, numbers that have him flirting with All-Star consideration.
Irving missed nearly two months as he and the Nets were extremely cautious with his recovery, something Dinwiddie sees as a baton the rest of the team has to carry while he's on the floor:
“I think that’s the job of our group,” said Dinwiddie. “As teammates, we should watch out for each other and make sure he doesn’t do anything contrary to his health. We understand who he is, so we’re pre-adjusted. We want to see the best for him. We were just holding down the fort for him.”
It's hard to fathom Dinwiddie putting up over 20 points per game with Irving in the starting lineup, but the Nets should now have a double-headed monster at point guard to help them win games.
Spencer Dinwiddie started alongside Kyrie Irving on Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks. The Nets smoked the Trae Young-less Hawks 108-86, with Irving pouring in 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting. Dinwiddie only had seven points, but he had eight assists and was a plus-30.
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