{"id":69567,"date":"2024-03-21T10:54:36","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T14:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=69567"},"modified":"2024-03-21T10:54:36","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T14:54:36","slug":"lakers-rumors-gabe-vincents-return-poses-backup-pg-dilemma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/03\/21\/lakers-rumors-gabe-vincents-return-poses-backup-pg-dilemma\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Rumors: Gabe Vincent&#8217;s Return Poses Backup PG Dilemma"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite conflicting reports, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheSteinLine\/status\/1770216218890293372\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NBA insider Marc Stein<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> revealed that Lakers guard <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vincega01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gabe Vincent<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> intends to return before the season ends. The 27-year-old has missed the majority of the year while recovering from left knee surgery. The team brought in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/dinwisp01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spencer Dinwiddie<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> after the deadline in hopes of solidifying the backup point guard slot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With Vincent hoping to return as the Lakers make a playoff push, it leads to an interesting dilemma over who should be the first one off the bench behind <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/russeda01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Lakers Rumors: Gabe Vincent&#8217;s Return Poses Backup PG Dilemma<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Spencer Dinwiddie<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since coming off of the buyout market, the nine-year veteran Dinwiddie has adjusted to his role as a backup. The stats are underwhelming\u20144.6 points and 2.7 assists per game on 35% shooting from the field. However, he\u2019s fit in as the secondary playmaker the Lakers needed off the bench.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Spencer Dinwiddie on embracing role-player duties in LA: &quot;Obviously, the way shit shook out in Brooklyn kind of put me more so in this box than my game being in that box. It&#39;s not like I&#39;m 35 or coming off injury or washed or anything. &#8230; Like, I&#39;m one of them guys. Let&#39;s not\u2026<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jovanbuha\/status\/1769793624844427739?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dinwiddie began his Laker career on a high note, recording seven assists and six points against the Pistons. In his second game against the Jazz, Dinwiddie finished with 10 points (3\/5 FG, 2\/3 3PT) and four assists. Since then, however, he\u2019s struggled to produce efficiently as time has gone on\u2014particularly against contenders. It raises concerns about his status heading into the Play-in Tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Darvin Ham pregame on Spencer Dinwiddie&#39;s lack of aggressiveness offensively: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vOXeMNGUqv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/vOXeMNGUqv<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DStarkand\/status\/1769145008396083452?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 16, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s always room for Dinwiddie to turn things around, but that time is limited with 13 games left in the season. It\u2019s clear he\u2019ll need to regain that energy on offense soon. The Lakers cannot afford to struggle, even against opposing benches. As of now, Dinwiddie is one of the catalysts who can breathe new life into LA\u2019s second unit. The question is, can he live up to that expectation?<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Gabe Vincent<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vincent was supposed to be the backup three-and-D guard who made up for Russell&#8217;s defensive struggles. However, his knee injury and poor performances made him a non-factor in the five games he appeared in this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Months after his procedure, Vincent was recently cleared for non-contact activities on Mar. 12. He was practicing with the team last week, seen here helping <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hachiru01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rui Hachimura<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with his three-point shooting.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Gabe Vincent, in his practice uniform, passing to Rui Hachimura for catch-and-shoot 3s <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cSDtYzcmWR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/cSDtYzcmWR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jovanbuha\/status\/1768720688888885289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 15, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The veteran\u2019s standout 2022 playoff run gave Laker fans hope that Vincent was worth the three-year, $33 million contract he signed over the summer. Instead, he\u2019s been another example of why LA shouldn\u2019t go after former Miami guards. However, he has time to change that perception, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assuming Vincent is fully healthy, he gives the Lakers a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LakersLegacyPod\/status\/1706406533800845746\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">much-needed point-of-attack defender<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which will be critical against contenders with stronger guard depth. Aside from his defensive chops, Vincent will serve as another boost for a Laker bench with an abysmal offensive rating\u201426th in the league this season. His shooting, if he can get out of his slump, will be his greatest asset. Vincent holds career averages of nearly 40% from the field, 33% from distance and 84% from the charity stripe. He has the power to be an immediate threat on both ends of the floor\u2014and could even be an upgrade over Dinwiddie\u2014but it\u2019s all predicated on his health upon his return.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Last Word<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The backup point guard spot is a race between two Lakers who have a lot to prove. Dinwiddie needs to assert himself on offense, while Vincent will be jumping in at a critical point of the season. While Dinwiddie and Vincent are solid options with deep playoff experience, their Laker tenures leave a lot to be desired. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LakersLead\/status\/1760898616858693809\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fans are also divided<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over who can take the reins when Russell is off the floor. Both of them have what it takes to control the second unit, but will need to jump over hurdles to get to that point.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite conflicting reports, NBA insider Marc Stein revealed that Lakers guard Gabe Vincent intends to return before the season ends. The 27-year-old has missed the majority of the year while recovering from left knee surgery. The team brought in Spencer Dinwiddie after the deadline in hopes of solidifying the backup point guard slot. With Vincent [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":63405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62],"tags":[307,4921,1749,1298],"class_list":["post-69567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","tag-dangelo-russell","tag-gabe-vincent","tag-rui-hachimura","tag-spencer-dinwiddie"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}