Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie is set to make his return to the rotation in Friday night's game against the Charlotte Hornets:
Spencer Dinwiddie will play tomorrow, coach Kenny Atkinson says. The plan is to play him in back-to-back games as well.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) February 28, 2019
Dinwiddie underwent thumb surgery in January, but it seems he has recovered enough to play. In fact, he practiced with the Long Island Nets (Brooklyn's G League affiliate) this week. The 25-year-old was originally given a three to six week timetable for return:
“IM HEALTHY! LEAVE ME ALOOOOONE” *plies voice* https://t.co/vUmHDG3ZhU
— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) February 28, 2019
Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson shed some light on Dinwiddie's progression on Wednesday:
“He’s very close to returning. Very close. I’ll leave it at that,” Atkinson said. “Close. I know you want specifics, but he’s very close.”
In 49 appearances with the Nets this season (four starts), Dinwiddie has racked up averages of 17.2 points on 46.1 percent shooting from the field (36.6 percent from beyond the arc), 5.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per outing.
As Scotto noted in his report, the Nets plan on playing Dinwiddie in back-to-back scenarios, which indicates that he has indeed recovered quite well. However, he may have some sort of minutes restriction at first. His return also means that Allen Crabbe, Shabazz Napier and even D'Angelo Russell could see a bit less playing time.
Dinwiddie sent out a tweet after hearing that he was cleared to play:
— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) February 28, 2019
Friday night's Nets-Hornets game is scheduled to tip inside the Barclays Center at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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