BOSTON — With Kyrie Irving out, Spencer Dinwiddie has been more than filling the star point guard’s spot in the Nets’ starting lineup — ไhe has been stellar.
But the Nets don’t have a natural third-string point guard like the departed Shabazz Napier, and they’ve struggled whenever Dinwiddie sits. That cost them in Wednesday night’s 121-110 loss to the Celtics.
“We can’t play him 48 minutes. I’d love to but I’m not there yet, not this early in the season. There’s a long season,꧋” coach Kenny Atkinson said.
The Nets coughed up a 24-11 run with Dinwiddie on th☂e bench for a stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters. Theo Pin💟son and Dzanan Musa are both playing out of position as emergency point guards with both Irving and Caris LeVert hurt.
“L🉐isten, I think Theo and Musa, those guys have done a good job holding the fort,” Atkinson said. “[The Celtics], they took advantage of us a little bit when he was on the bench. I’m going to stick with those guys. You’ve got to stick through the good times and the bad times.”
Dinwiddie had 16 points and a game-high 11 assists. He gave the Nets𓄧 an 81-80 lead, but he checked out with 3:37 to play in the third quarter, and Brooklyn allowed the game-changin♛g run.
When Dinwiddie returned, the Nets were 🐭down 104🥃-92 with 7:51 to play.
“We’ve got confidence in every🏅body’s talent in this locker room so we’re not really worried about that,” Dinwiddie said. “Who plays and who doesn’t, we can’t control that. At the end of the day, we believe in 🦄the guys one through 15.”
While some have opined that the Nets left Irving home so he wouldn’t have to be subjected to the hate from his former fans, Atkinson sꦐaid it was mainly because his rehab would benefit from being back in Brooklyn at HSS Training Center.
The Nets play host🎃 to the Celti𓂃cs in a Black Friday rematch.
“We’re evaluating him 🌺every day,” Atkinson said. “It’s ongoing. Just day-to-da𝔉y checking up on him.”
🐬The shorthanded Nets have made a few notable tweaks, using more zone with the starters and a slower pace with the reserves🔯.
Atkinson al🐓so has juggled his rotations, having Garrett Temple come out earlier in the first quarter and play mo🎐re with the reserves to give his bench some more offensive punch.
Temple had a team-high 22 points a♈gainst the C❀eltics.