‘He does all the little things’: Lakers’ Spencer Dinwiddie cherishing new role
'It's fun to step into a new role with my childhood team and be productive,' the guard said after blocking a shot to preserve the Lakers' win over the Bucks
LOS ANGELES — Spencer Dinwiddie hasn’t accumulated a lot of “sexy stats”, as he refers to them, since joining the Lakers as a free agent almost a month ago.
But his game-sealing block against Damian Lillard in Friday’s 123-122 home win over the Milwaukee Bucks epitomizes how Dinwiddie has bought into a new role.
“I’m not gonna lie to you, having been a high-usage offensive guy my entire career, even when I was a kid, I kind of dreamed of those moments in terms of hitting the shot, not necessarily getting the block,” Dinwiddie said late Friday night. “But it feels pretty much just as sweet.”
Dinwiddie, who made his first start in place of LeBron James, who was sidelined because of left ankle peroneal tendinopathy, was originally guarding Pat Connaughton.
But he and Cam Reddish switched defensive assignments on Connaughton’s inbounds pass to Lillard, leaving Dinwiddie guarding Lillard with a lot of space around them.
Dinwiddie, knowing Lillard likes to get his stepback jumper going left, cut off that side of the floor to force Lillard to go to his right. And when Lillard tried to create separation with a couple of drives before leaning back for a potential game-winning shot, Dinwiddie delivered the game-clinching on the Bucks’ final possession.
“He took a couple [of] dribbles, and then just didn’t have the same type of separation,” Dinwiddie said of his block on Lillard. “So when he went to the step-back pull-up there, I felt he was close enough. And I just jumped to try to contest a shot. And fortunately, I was able to get the block as well.”
And once it was apparent that Dinwiddie sealed the win for the Lakers, the announced crowd of 18,997 people inside Crypto.com Arena roared.
“It’s fun to step into a new role with my childhood team and be productive in the sense of helping us get wins,” Dinwiddie said. “That isn’t lost on me, and it’s something that I’m definitely gonna cherish the rest of my life.”
What the Lakers have asked of Dinwiddie isn’t too familiar to him.
After mostly being a starter for the past few seasons, Dinwiddie has been used in a reserve role, with Friday being his first start in 11 games with the Lakers.
His usage – touches, time of possession with the ball, shots attempts, passes – is down from previous seasons.
“It’s not a trade where it opened up a bunch of shots or opportunity or whatever,” Dinwiddie said earlier in the week. He signed with the Lakers after being waived by the Raptors following a trade from the Brooklyn Nets to Toronto the previous week.
Dinwiddie added: “I was coming to like set-in-stone teams. And so it’s just a little bit different of a situation.”
But that hasn’t stopped Dinwiddie from finding ways to impact winning.
His individual plus/minus of plus-4.6 is a team-best mark.
Although he didn’t come to the Lakers with the best defensive reputation, he’s made his biggest impact on that side of the floor.
“He’s only going to continue to get comfortable,” said D’Angelo Russell, who delivered the go-ahead floater three seconds before Dinwiddie’s block. “I know what he’s capable of. Everybody here is going to be quick to judge him for not putting up numbers and all that. But when you watch him, he does all the little things.
“He’s super versatile. There’s a reason why all the winning teams have had a piece of him and want to utilize him. Here, his role might be a little different, but he’s more than capable of doing everything for us to win.”
TIMBERWOLVES AT LAKERS
When: 6:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV/radio: ESPN/710 AM