Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie has been out of commission for a month after undergoing right thumb surgery. However, the crafty ball handler is set to make his return in Friday night's game against the Charlotte Hornets, and it sounds like he's ready to make an immediate impact.
“I ain’t coming back to make any excuses,” Dinwiddie told the New York Post when asked if the injury might have any lingering effects on his shot or feel. “I’m ready to play.”
The Nets posted a 6-9 record with Dinwiddie on the sidelines, but the team is still in the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Charlotte, who comes into Friday night's game carrying a 28-33 overall record, is just three games back:
“Charlotte is a good team,” Dinwiddie said. “Obviously, they’re a team we’re fighting for a playoff spot, and so we got to beat them because teams that are kind of in your area, [those games] kind of count as double.”
Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson has already stated that Dinwiddie will be available for back-to-back sets, but he could be placed on a minutes restriction:
“I don’t think he’ll play 40 minutes [Friday],” Atkinson said Friday, referring to Dinwiddie's status. “We’ll still kind of build him up. He looked really good in the scrimmage today.”
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 iin 28.6 minutes per outing.
Friday night's Nets-Hornets game is scheduled to tip inside the Barclays Center at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Follow Us
Subscribe