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Mavs' Spencer Dinwiddie Shades Wizards, Says They Don't Play 'Winning Basketball'
January 25, 2023
Dallas Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie questioned the motives driving members of the Washington Wizards following his team's 127-126 loss to Washington on Tuesday.
"For them, it's a showcase," Dinwiddie, who played for Washington last season, told reporters. "They're over there trying to get paid, not trying to play winning basketball. For a team that has real aspirations and has an MVP, went to the conference finals last year, we have to be better to a man."
That prompted a response from Wizards star Kyle Kuzma, who had 30 points and five rebounds against Dallas.
While Kuzma was alluding to Tuesday's result, there's a level of irony in Dinwiddie's attempt to make his point when the Mavericks aren't exactly flourishing.
The Mavs are 25-24 and sixth in the Western Conference. In addition, their formula for playing "winning basketball" largely boils down to having Luka Dončić on the roster.
Dončić is leading the team in points (33.8), rebounds (9.1) and assists (8.6), and his 38.2 percent usage rate is on pace to be the seventh-highest ever in a single season, per Basketball Reference. According to NBA.com, Dallas has a minus-6.3 net rating when the three-time All-Star isn't on the floor.
If that's Dinwiddie's idea of "winning basketball," he and the Mavericks need to go back to the drawing board.
