The Los Angeles Lakers faced off against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night without their superstar player – LeBron James. Due to an ankle injury, James was on the injury report and was unable to take the court. However, James’ absence was filled with a stellar performance by D’Angelo Russell and a game-winning block from Spencer Dinwiddie. The latter’s play in particular left infamous analyst, Skip Bayless beyond hyped following the final buzzer, as he shared on X[Formerly Twitter].
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With LeBron James ruled out of the game, the Laker’s recent acquisition – Spencer Dinwiddie, was promoted to the starting lineup for this game. Dinwiddie, known for his scoring ability, did not do too great on the offensive end for his team, but came up clutch when it mattered most. With 5.9 seconds remaining in the game, Milwaukee was trailed by just one with an opportunity to take the lead. However, Dinwiddie showed off his defensive chops with a crucial block on Lillard to secure the win for his team.
The clean block against Bucks superstar Damian Lillard garnered a lot of praise from analysts on social media. FS1 analyst – Skip Bayless took to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to praise Dinwiddie and said, “IT’S DIN TIME! Dinwiddie just blocked Dame Time’s potential game-winning jumper — all-hand blocked it completely, not just fingertips.” Bayless, who is rarely known to shower praise on anybody, was impressed with what he saw from the Lakers’ guard and made sure to give him his flowers on the social media platform.
The victory against the Bucks pushes the Lakers to the 9th spot in the Western Conference standings and moves them one game behind the eighth spot, as per NBA.com. The last month of the NBA regular season will be decisive for the Western Conference teams as they fight to avoid the Play-In Tournament. The following teams are within four games of each other and battling to secure a favorable spot between fifth and tenth in the West – New Orleans Pelicans, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors.
Spencer Dinwiddie and the Los Angeles Lakers
Spencer Dinwiddie saw himself back with the Brooklyn Nets to start the 2023-24 season after getting traded by the Dallas Mavericks during the trade deadline in 2022-23. However, his second stint in a Nets uniform was short-lived as he was again traded on the 2023-24 trade deadline to the Toronto Raptors for Dennis Schroder and Thaddeus Young. Raptors then bought out his contract, making him a free agent, and allowing the Los Angeles Lakers to acquire his services.
The 6ft 5inch guard is known for his scoring abilities and can score at all three levels. With the Los Angeles Lakers lacking offensive power in their lineup, the guard is expected to provide a much-needed scoring boost to the historic side. Further, the player himself seems beyond happy to be in Sunny California himself. Fans will hope all the positives of this situation will allow him to perform for the Purple and Gold. However, if he is unable to, like many before him, he may see himself shipped off to yet another city all over again.
