In Dinwiddie we (and Luka) trust
Spencer Dinwiddie has had back-to-back game winning three-pointers off passes from Luka Doncic, who said his teammate is playing like an all-star.
Spencer Dinwiddie is one of just three other players in the NBA (two of whom are in the running to become MVP) to have at least six go-ahead shots in the last ten seconds of the game in the last five seasons. And yet, when he was playing with the Washington Wizards, he was encouraged to be less involved.
The Mavs with Dinwiddie vs without = clutch
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison saw the talent of Dinwiddie, though, and brought him over to Dallas, where he certainly is not expected or encouraged to hold back. He has now played 12 games with the Mavs and averages 17.9 points and 4.3 assists per game plus is shooting 50 percent from the field and 43 percent from deep.
When the Mavs and Celtics were tied at 92 on Sunday, Doncic found Dinwiddie, who hit a three-pointer to win the game. On Wednesday, with ten seconds left in the game, Doncic took it up the court, passed it to Dinwiddie, and allowed him to hit the game-winner as time ran out, another three-pointer to beat the Brooklyn Nets.
When Luka Doncic was asked to run through the last play of the Nets game, he simply said, “same as Boston. That’s it.”
Doncic and Dinwiddie have a connection that the Mavs needed. Before Dinwiddie showed up, the Mavs were getting overwhelmed in the attack, unable to make those clutch shots. Since his arrival, however, Dallas is 11-3 in clutch plays, the best in the league. The two have a trust between each other that just works where it didn’t before with Porzingas, whatever the reasons.
Dinwiddie is happy to have the trust of his fellow teammate and star player. “I am grateful to Luka. He trusts me,” said Dinwiddie after the win. “As a star, you can make people feel wanted or unwanted, trusted or not.”