Spencer Dinwiddie, the point guard who was the Brooklyn Nets’ top scorer on his way to the NBA restart in Orlando, said he tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms that could prevent him from joining his teammates. computer on reboot.
Dinwiddie made the announcement through Shams Charania of The Athletic.
“In the past few months, I have been diligent in protecting myself and others from COVID-19 by following all designated protocols and quarantine,” said Dinwiddie. The athletic. “I was ready and prepared to meet with my teammates as we were going to be an early entry team on the season restart. I flew privately to return to New York, passed several COVID-19 tests during my first days in New York, and was able to participate in a couple of practices during the first week.
“Originally, we were supposed to be one of the teams that would go into the Orlando bubble early, but training camp returned to New York and unfortunately I’m positive now. Since I have experienced symptoms such as fever and chest tightness, it is unclear whether I will be able to participate in Orlando or not.
“Hindsight is 20/20.”
Dinwiddie said he will be quarantined for 14 days, then see how he feels and will reevaluate whether he should join his teammates in Orlando. Dinwiddie had been working in preparation for the restart and had even planned the social justice message he wanted on the back of his 26th jersey, a reference to the current national debt.
If you wonder what I’m going to put on the back of my shirt, it will be “Trillion”.
– Spencer Dinwiddie (@ SDinwiddie_25) June 29, 2020
Dinwiddie had pushed Brooklyn back into the playoffs this season, averaging 20.6 points, 6.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. With Kyrie Irving missing out on much of the season (and Kevin Durant didn’t play at all), Dinwiddie had served as the team’s main game creator and a consistency anchor as the rosters changed due to injury.
The Nets will not feature Durant, Irving, Wilson Chandler (who retired over the weekend), and now possibly Dinwiddie. If Dinwiddie can’t play, he’s likely to force Garrett Temple to play a much bigger role, leaving Tyler Johnson (who just signed as a free agent) and Chris Chiozza as the other players right now.
Brooklyn is just half a game ahead of the largely healthy Orlando Magic for the seven seeds from the East. If the Magic beats the Nets, it puts Brooklyn at risk of Washington forcing play-in games after the eight “seed games” and before the start of the playoffs.
