The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline, although they were able to add veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie off the buyout market.
Dinwiddie has done his part to fit in since joining the team and although that doesn’t mean putting up big offensive numbers, he has still found a way to make an impact.
That was evident during Friday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks when Dinwiddie made his first start in a Laker uniform in place of the injured LeBron James. While again, Dinwiddie did not put up big numbers, finishing with five points, two rebounds and three assists, he had arguably the biggest play of the night.
After D’Angelo Russell put the Lakers up one with a floater with five seconds to play, they needed one stop in order to secure the victory. They were able to get it thanks to Dinwiddie as he guarded Damian Lillard to perfection and came up with the game-winning block as time expired to secure the victory.
After the game, Dinwiddie spoke on how cool of a moment that was for him.
“Definitely dope. Obviously Dame is one of the best clutch time performers the NBA has seen. It was my first start, so to be able to make that play was fun. It was a great moment,” Dinwiddie said.
Dinwiddie would go on to elaborate on what he saw on that play and how he was able to come up with the block.
“The bench, DLo specifically, did a good job of talking out the switch because I started on Pat Connaughton just in case he went to flash up top. Then from there, obviously you had the whole left side of the floor, Dame is usually super proficient with the left stepback so I tried to cut him off and get him back going right. He took a couple dribbles and then just didn’t have the same type of separation. So when he went to the stepback pullup there, I felt like he was close enough and just jumped to try to contest the shot and fortunately I was able to get the block as well.”
Dinwiddie is a player that’s used to contributing offensively and not necessarily making a huge impact on the defensive end. He has a different role on this Lakers team though and now that he’s back in his hometown, he’s embracing it and the result has been awesome moments like Friday.
“It’s everything. I’m not going to lie to you. Having been a high-usage offensive guy my entire career, I mean, even when I was a kid, stuff like that, I kind of dreamed of those moments in terms of hitting the shot, not necessarily getting the block. But it feels pretty much just as sweet. It’s fun to step into a new role with my childhood team and be productive in a sense of helping us get wins. So that isn’t lost on me and it’s something that I’m definitely going to cherish the rest of my life,” Dinwiddie said.
“I’ve done all that in my head, whether it be a 3-pointer, a stepback middy, a floater, a dunk. I have a game-winner in this building, actually. Left elbow over Avery Bradley the year y’all won the title. Last game before the shutdown. I had like a five-year run where I was like top-five in game-winners and all that stuff. It’s funny to be on the other end of that, honestly. But it’s just something that is also fun to do when there’s real purpose behind it. We’re a team that has real championship aspirations so it’s not like I’m doing it for nothing. Whatever you need of me in the pursuit of something that really means something, I’m down for it.”
For Dinwiddie to embrace this role with the Lakers shows how serious he is about winning, and the hope is that he will continue to make this type of impact moving forward.
Darvin Ham: Spencer Dinwiddie has been ‘steady’ for Lakers
Even before the Bucks game, head coach Darvin Ham was pleased with Dinwiddie’s play since joining the Lakers, believing he has been ‘steady’ even though the numbers aren’t big.
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