Brooklyn Nets: Player grades from Manhattan misstep

On Sunday against the Golden State Warriors, it appeared Allen Crabbe was snapping out of his early-season shooting malaise. Then he went to Madison Square Garden Monday night and had difficulty getting anything to go down.

After going 2-for-8 overall and 1-for-6 from 3-point range, Crabbe is at .271/.313/12-for-16 on the season and is averaging 8.0 points per game.

He’s been moved out of the starting lineup since spraining his ankle in the preseason and missing the final three tuneup games as well as the regular-season opener, and he’s spending more time at the 3 (61 percent, per Basketball-Reference.com) as he is his natural 2 spot (34 percent).

It’s the first time since 2015-16 that he’s played more small forward and maybe that’s having an effect. Maybe his stroke is still getting back to normal after losing some lift for awhile because of the ankle.

Whatever it is, he needs to get it fixed because if Crabbe isn’t making shots, his value diminishes quickly.

Spencer Dinwiddie had another strong game Monday night, carrying much of the load in the fourth quarter as the Brooklyn Nets tried to make a game of it against the New York Knicks.

Dinwiddie scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the final quarter, making every shot he took.

An interesting dynamic is forming with Dinwiddie playing off the ball opposite Shabazz Napier in the backcourt, one that coach Kenny Atkinson might want to consider looking at a bit more often.

Dinwiddie, at 6-foot-5, certainly has the size to play at the 2 and with his point-guard skill set can function very similarly to Caris LeVert at the position, less LeVert’s lightning-fast first step and array of spins and twists in traffic.