NY Knicks: Team could make a run at Spencer Dinwiddie
By Adam Kester
NY Knicks: Spencer Dinwiddie could hold down the starting point guard spot
The Knicks need a new starting point guard, and this goes beyond Elfrid Payton’s departure.
After benching Payton in their first round series with the Atlanta Hawks, the team thrust Derrick Rose into the lineup, and even with some of Rose’s individual heroics, it just wasn’t the right formula.
Ultimately, if the team brings Rose back, they’ll surely want him to play in the 6th man role he was so effective in during the regular season.
By adding Dinwiddie and potentially keeping Rose on the bench, the Knicks could make a huge jump in their depth/talent at the point guard position.
Dinwiddie’s game might be a really nice fit for Tom Thibodeau’s NY Knicks.
At 6’5, he has terrific size for a guard and he moves with outstanding body control. Thibodeau loves an attacking point guard, and Dinwiddie brings a physical attitude to the position. He loves going to the rim and embracing contact.
In that 2019-20 season, Dinwiddie posted an impressive 20.6 points and 6.8 assists per game. It’s easy to forget about just how good he is after not seeing him play since December, but he has a really nice balanced point guard game on offense. It’s not easy to put up 20 and 6 in this league.
He’s not a known defensive maestro, he typically ranks in the middle of the pack for perimeter defender metrics. Still, you’d have to think Thibodeau would get a lot of a 6’5 guard. Spencer Dinwiddie has the size, strength, and lateral quickness to be an effective perimeter defender under Thibodeau.
If Dinwiddie comes back to full health, who’s to say he can’t continue the pace he set for himself just a season ago? He established himself as one of the best guards in the East, getting praise from players around the league.
That is the biggest question here: Do the Knicks want to pay someone coming off of a partial ACL tear?