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Spencer Dinwiddie has sustained a right thumb injury, the Nets reported Thursday afternoon after a stream of tweets, primarily from Dinwiddie’s former teammate Caron Butler, suggested he could be out from between four to six weeks.
Shams Charania reports the Nets 6’6” guard may need surgery.
Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie has torn ligaments on his right thumb and is evaluating need for surgery, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 24, 2019
Officially, all the Nets will say is that “Spencer Dinwiddie is being evaluated for a right thumb injury. More information will be provided once the diagnosis has been completed.”
A league source told NetsDaily that the Nets are awaiting medical opinions. As of Thursday afternoon, Dinwiddie was listed as “questionable” for Friday’s game with the Knicks.
Nets @HSpecialSurgery Injury Report for tomorrow night:
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 24, 2019
Dinwiddie (right thumb) - QUESTIONABLE
Hollis-Jefferson (left shoulder strain) - QUESTIONABLE
Crabbe (sore right knee) - OUT
Dudley (left hamstring strain) - OUT
LeVert (right foot) - OUT
Musa (left shoulder) - OUT
Butler started speculation about Dinwiddie’s injury with a series of tweets shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday.
Brooklyn Nets All star in the making Spencer Dinwiddie has had his hand examined one of the top hand specialist in the country. He has torn ligaments in his finger He will get two other evaluations to confirm the diagnosis before a decision is made about further action ..
— Caron Butler (@realtuffjuice) January 24, 2019
NetsDaily then confirmed the injury, noting it’s to his right thumb.
Dinwiddie injury is confirmed. Question now is what options are available as team awaits medical opinions.
— NetsDaily.com (@NetsDaily) January 24, 2019
There’s no indication yet when the medical opinions will be complete. Nor when the injury occurred. Dinwiddie scored 29 points to lead the Nets in a 114-110 victory over the Magic, their fifth straight and 11th out of their last 12 at home.
Dinwiddie, 25, is averaging 17.2 points and five assists per came in a Sixth Man role for the Nets helping to push them into the sixth seed in the East.
The Nets have been able to use their surprisingly deep bench to recover from a series of injuries. Brooklyn rarely had fewer than four players injured over the last month but have kept winning.
Currently, Caris LeVert, Allen Crabbe, Dzanan Musa and Jared Dudley are out. There’s been no word on LeVert’s return, but he has been seen shooting pre-game lately. It appears Crabbe and Musa are close, but neither have undertaken 5-on-5 contract drills.
Expect Shabazz Napier to get the bulk of any minutes lost.
Said Kenny Atkinson earlier Thursday: “Shabazz, I know we’re gonna need him. I love him; I think he’s a darn good player. I didn’t give him enough minutes last night quite honestly. And I know he’s gonna help us down the line.”
Later, Atkinson told Mad Dog Unleashed that reports of Dinwiddie being out were “hasty” and that everything is “to be determined”.
And just before 8:30 p.m., Dinwiddie seemed to give WFAN host and Nets fan Evan Roberts some hope things aren’t that bad.
That’s real love but shouldn’t be necessary https://t.co/fkAIbeznbk
— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) January 25, 2019
- Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie dealt mystery thumb injury out of nowhere - Brian Lewis - New York Post
- Nets’ Run to the Playoffs Hits a Snag With Spencer Dinwiddie Injury - Benjamin Hoffman - New York Times
- Spencer Dinwiddie being evaluated for right thumb injury - Greg Logan - Newsday
- Spencer Dinwiddie being evaluated for thumb injury, but severity is unknown - New York Daily News
- Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie has injured thumb; status uncertain - ESPN