Spencer Dinwiddie injury could be costly for the Nets

Spencer Dinwiddie (right) (Erik Drost, Wikimedia Commons)

After seven games to begin the 2020-21 National Basketball Association regular season, the Nets were not supposed to be under .500. Brooklyn was supposed to be among the elite teams in the entire league, with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant leading the way. They got off to a great start. On opening night, the Nets beat the Golden State Warriors with ease, 125-99. 

But at three wins and four losses, Brooklyn is struggling, especially defensively. This week the news got worse for Nets fans, as Spencer Dinwiddie of Los Angeles, California underwent season-ending anterior cruciate ligament surgery. He suffered the injury on December 27, in the Nets 106-104 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Dinwiddie landed awkwardly on his leg after driving to the basket against Bismack Biyombo, according to Jasmyn Wimbish of CBS Sports. 

Now, Dinwiddie was not supposed to be the go-to Nets player this season. Last year expectations were higher with Irving and Durant out of the lineup. However, Dinwiddie was expected to contribute necessary secondary-scoring for Brooklyn to accommodate the skillset that the Nets stars bring on a nightly basis. The loss of Dinwiddie is huge when you consider the fact he averaged career-highs in points per game (20.6), assists per game (6.8) in 2019-20, and had averaged a career-high in rebounds per game in 2020-21 with 4.3.

Dinwiddie is not the only Nets player out of the lineup. Durant is having to miss the next four Brooklyn games because he was in close contact to someone who tested positive for coronavirus. This is an interesting decision by the NBA because Durant has already had coronavirus. He tested positive for the disease initially in March.

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