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Los Angeles Lakers’ Spencer Dinwiddie Shares Thoughts After Massive 26-Point Night vs Pacers
Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers desperately want to make the playoffs, so they need to snag every win they could as the regular season is coming to a close. However, things seemed uncertain during their 150-145 win over the Indiana Pacers when D’Angelo Russell went down due to illness.

Thankfully for the Lakers, their somewhat depleted bench managed to rise to the challenge of Tyrese Haliburton’s Pacers thanks to the efforts of Spencer Dinwiddie to cover for Russell at the point.

Spencer Dinwiddie is happy to contribute to the Los Angeles Lakers as he helped the team edge the Indiana Pacers

Spectrum SportsNet approached Dinwiddie about his on-court contributions after the Lakers managed to edge the Pacers as their depleted roster outscored the Pacers on their own court.

He replied that he was just more than happy to be able to contribute to the Lakers’ success, regardless of the reduced role that he got compared to the time he was with the Brooklyn Nets:

Dinwiddie did a spectacular job leading the Los Angeles Lakers as the floor general. Aside from his 26 points, he was also an effective distributor with his five assists. He was even active underneath the rim with his two boards.

He will be an integral cog for the Lakers’ late push for the playoffs. While it seems like the Lakers will have to battle it out in the play-in tournament, Darvin Ham is glad to have a reliable guard on his side.

Will the Lakers be able to win the NBA championship with their current roster?

The Lakers may have edged out the Pacers, but their playoff status is far from secure. They are currently ninth in the West with a 39-32 record, and it seems unlikely that they’ll be able to make it to sixth place with only eleven games remaining this season.

Moreover, they have injuries to multiple role players. Christian Wood’s return is uncertain after going through arthroscopic knee surgery, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt are also out due to knee and foot issues, respectively.

The Lakers were only able to field nine players against the Pacers, and that doesn’t spell good for their playoff chances if LeBron James and Anthony Davis can’t take time off to keep their playoff push alive.

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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