When D’Angelo Russell was ruled out for the Los Angeles Lakers before their game on Sunday against the Indiana Pacers, it was clear they would be at a significant disadvantage.
Russell has averaged 21.8 points and 6.6 assists while shooting 45.1% from 3-point range in his last 30 games. Clearly, at least one player needed to step up.
Spencer Dinwiddie took Russell’s place in the starting lineup on Sunday. If one were asked what an ideal performance from Dinwiddie would look like in such a situation, well, that’s exactly what Dinwiddie provided.
He scored 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line while dishing five assists and blocking two shots. He also played excellent defense on Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton and helped hold Haliburton to 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham talked about Dinwiddie’s big game and praised his mindset after the win over Indiana (at 2:02).
Darvin Ham on Spencer Dinwiddie: “That’s the type of players he is, he’s multi-faceted. He’s willing to accept and embrace whatever role is put in front of him. We’ve asked him to defend some high level perimeter guys, play-make, and be aggressive… Tonight, he did all three.” pic.twitter.com/u6Y0ubSwyv
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 25, 2024
Ham mentioned how Dinwiddie’s teammates have been encouraging the veteran guard to be aggressive. While he struggled in his first few weeks with L.A., he has made 48.1% of his 3-point shots in his last 11 contests.
In addition, he has played some very strong on-the-ball defense. On Friday, he helped harass Philadelphia 76ers All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey into 10-of-26 shooting in a 101-94 Lakers win.
Perhaps the decision to sign Dinwiddie from the buyout market in late February is starting to pay off.
