Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie has always been a steadying presence for the Nets whether the game was a blowout or it came down to the wire. In their first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, Dinwiddie has not been in his best form, but he has been able to provide enough to not be a total liability on the floor.
In Monday’s 96-84 Game 2 loss to the 76ers, Dinwiddie had 12 points but it came on 5-of-14 shooting from the field and 1-of-3 from three-point land. Despite being one of the veterans on the team who has been on the playoff stage before, Dinwiddie has appeared hesitant at times on what he wants to do on the offensive end. There were times where he looked as if he didn’t know if he was supposed to drive all the way to the rim or not.
Speaking of offense, Brooklyn’s offense was uneven in Game 2. The Nets shot 40% from the field in the first half while holding the 76ers to 43%, but in the second half, Brooklyn shot 35% from the field as Philadelphia began using a zone defense more often. That type of look seemed to throw off the Nets as a zone defense does to most teams because man-to-man offensive and defensive concepts are predominantly taught and used throughout the NBA. Dinwiddie said that the zone was effective, but Brooklyn just missed open looks as well:
“Like I said, they (the 76ers) went zone. So, a little bit different look. But overall, I mean, we got up 40 threes, which is what we wanted to do, as part of the game plan. We obviously didn’t knock them down. Anytime you score 80 points in a playoff game, you just gotta generate more points.”
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