Spencer Dinwiddie Still Validated After Playoffs-Bound Mavs Lose to Wizards

Dallas Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie played against the Washington Wizards for the first time since being traded.

Leading up to the Dallas Mavericks' 135-103 loss to the Washington Wizards, much of the attention was placed on Kristaps Porzingis facing off against his former team for the first time since being traded.

Like Porzingis, Spencer Dinwiddie was also playing against his former team. The end result for him was far from a statement game, though. His streak of 16 consecutive double-figure scoring performances came to an end as he finished with eight points, two rebounds, and one assist in 23 minutes. 

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Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

In Dinwiddie's NBA career, he's played against former teams a few teams. Whether it was facing the Detroit Pistons after becoming a member of the Brooklyn Nets, or facing the Nets after signing with the Wizards, he wasn't in uncharted territory on Friday. 

"It wasn't like Brooklyn where I spent five years, grew a lot, made a home," Dinwiddie said. "I was here for a couple months. Definitely more so than any other game, of course, but not to the degree of something I've experienced as well."

Dinwiddie stated that comments have been made about the Wizards' locker room that have validated his perspective. He isn't worried about what one 30-point loss in a head-to-head matchup shows when a larger sample size is available to tell a more complete story. 

“I said what I said about the organization," Dinwiddie said. "I know that they’ve since made comments about their own locker room that kind of validated what I’ve said about the situation. Anything further about their situation is their situation. 

"After a 30-point win on their end, of course it's going to be kind of easy to say 'this that, and the third' but at the end of the day, this stretch of basketball post All-Star break has kind of validated what I've said. ... Like (Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson said), are we beating a dead horse? Or are we going to let them go into the offseason and let us go to the playoffs and keep it rocking?"

Dinwiddie continued: "We've had 20 games or so since the All-Star break and a sixth of their play and comments has validated everything that I've said. The same way that our play has validated what I've said with one game being an anomaly. It just is what it is man."

The time Dinwiddie spent in Washington featured no shortage of ups and downs. The team got off to a 10-3 start to the season with many starting to praise the organization for how well they pulled off the Russell Westbrook trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

For Dinwiddie, it started off well but quickly changed for the worse. After the trade to the Mavericks, he explained how his role shifted from being a scorer to being tasked with being more of a playmaker to get players like Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope more shots. 

“When the role changed and they wanted me to pass more — they felt like I was scoring a lot — I did that. I took my foot off the gas scoring-wise because that’s what they felt — the team needed to get [Kyle Kuzma] and [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] and those guys shots. I said, ‘Look, I already got paid. This is about y’all trying to get the shots that y’all need, whatever,'” Dinwiddie said.

There are no regrets for the Wizards either, given they were eager to part with Dinwiddie and are excited about the long-term outlook they share with Porzingis. Meanwhile, the Mavericks have received a significant boost overall from Dinwiddie's skill-set. 

Dinwiddie is averaging 16.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists since in 19 appearances with the Mavericks. He's filled an important sixth-man role, filled in amid injuries in the starting backcourt, and even starting alongside Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson when needed. 

The Mavericks will look to bounce back from their loss against the Wizards when they take on the reigning NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.