Atlantic Notes: Dinwiddie, Porizingis, Powell

It’s been a long road for Spencer Dinwiddie. Now the journeyman guard finds him a critical piece of the Nets after bouncing around the NBA and G League. Brian Lewis of the New York Post wrote about the 24-year-old’s rise to prominence.

“His attention to detail, his approach to the game has really got him where he is, and it’s helped his confidence a lot,” Nets teammate Quincy Acy, no stranger to the journeyman lifestyle said. “He’s playing well. He deserves everything he’s getting right now. He worked for it. I love to see guys like that succeed, guys that really worked for it off the court. It’s really showing.”

Dinwiddie is averaging 12.8 points and 6.8 assists per game for the Nets and has established himself as a reliable option in the clutch.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

• Is it time to start believing in the Celtics? That’s the question that Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports asks, suggesting that the team has made a case for itself as a legitimate contender for the East crown as soon as this season.
• While there are plenty of NBA personalities who believe in Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis‘s potential to be a franchise player, a pair of European scouts aren’t so sure. Marc Berman of the New York Post features the somewhat bearish outlook on the 22-year-old unicorn in his latest.
• Raptors swingman Norman Powell has seen his role decrease of late thanks to the solid play of other young players in the lineup. “He’s always been up and down, in and out of the lineup,” teammate Kyle Lowry told Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. “I think he consistently stays ready as a professional athlete and does his job. It’s just a tough spot for him to be in right now.“