The Mavericks’ Spencer Dinwiddie situation is worse than anyone expected

The Dallas Mavericks officially concluded their four-game preseason slate on Thursday evening, as the Mavericks got their first victory of the preseason against the Milwaukee Bucks by a final score of 109-84. While Kessler Edwards, Maxi Kleber, and Luka Doncic never touched the floor throughout the preseason, the Mavericks got a decent look at what the potential of this roster may look like when they are in full effect.

It's important to not overreact to anything coming out of preseason though, as the lack of competitiveness and wacky rotations being played by teams makes it hard to truly evaluate how specific players fared. For example, certain players' skill sets may be accentuated in the regular season in a certain lineup that was never played in preseason.

This could be the case with Dallas' Spencer Dinwiddie, as the 31-year-old guard has historically played well in lineups with two other shot creators, as was the case when Dinwiddie played alongside Jalen Brunson and Doncic in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. However, Dinwiddie struggled mightily throughout all of the preseason, and he didn't necessarily have the best season with the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers last season either.

Spencer Dinwiddie played worse in preseason than anyone expected

Dinwiddie only averaged 18 minutes throughout the preseason, as no players bear an egregious workload in preseason typically, but his numbers were still really rough given the limited sample size. Throughout the preseason, Dinwiddie averaged 6.3 points on abysmal shooting splits of 29.6/27.2/66.7 and also had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio.

It appeared as if Dinwiddie didn't have the same burst to his game that we saw previously in Dallas throughout most of the preseason, as Dinwiddie struggled to get all the way to the rim on drives and lacked a sense of direction as the primary ball handler. While Dinwiddie is known for his ability to get to the free throw line, he was foul-baiting far too often during the preseason, most of the time unsuccessfully at that.

It seemed like Dinwiddie didn't have the same grip on the Mavericks' offensive system that he did beforehand throughout most of the preseason, as Dinwiddie lacked a diversification of moves and counters as a ball handler in the pick-and-roll, and he didn't stand out as a playmaker whatsoever.

While Dinwiddie was the primary initiator for the Nets last season until playing more of a 3-and-D role when he signed with the Lakers in the buyout market later on, he'll have to adapt to being a ball handler off the bench for this Mavericks squad. Dinwiddie's shooting efficiency dropped steadily last season compared to his 2022-23 season with Dallas and Brooklyn, and this preseason is looking like an extension of last season for Dinwiddie.

Luckily for the Mavericks, they aren't committing much to Dinwiddie financially compared to his first go around in Dallas, as Dinwiddie signed a one-year veteran's minimum deal this past offseason. With that being said though, this Mavericks team is as talented as any Mavericks team in history, and Dinwiddie isn't guaranteed to play on a nightly basis if he continues to play like this during the regular season.

22-year-old Jaden Hardy had an excellent preseason for Dallas and is primed for a third-year jump in production, so it would be remiss to ignore that Hardy may take a majority of the minutes at the backup point guard slot in Dallas' rotation if Dinwiddie continues to be a non-factor offensively.

With Dante Exum out of Dallas' lineup for the next three months, the Mavericks could definitely use Dinwiddie's production and skillset as a bigger guard early on this season, even if it's in a limited capacity because of Hardy taking a leap. However, the way things are trending right now, the Mavericks could have a larger Spencer Dinwiddie issue on their hands than anyone expected if he can't be a reliable ball handler off the bench.

He'll have plenty of time to get back on track, and some of his play in the second half was a step in the right direction.