Brooklyn Nets: Player grades from a tough night for the D in Dallas

Spencer Dinwiddie had another solid performance off the bench, scoring in double figures for the 15th straight game and leading the Nets with seven assists.

He wasn’t locked in from long range — outside of Allen Crabbe, no one really was for Brooklyn — but Dinwiddie continues to be a contributor the Nets can rely on. With his shot not falling, Dinwiddie did a nice job of getting to the foul line — he had 10 of Brooklyn’s 21 attempts.

Defensively, Dinwiddie has made a lot of progress since last season — particularly in ball denial on the perimeter — and has to be at least on the periphery of the early conversations about Sixth Man of the Year. Winning more games will help that cause, however.

There’s been a noticeable shift over the last two games, with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson still coming off the bench while also getting more of the minutes at the 4 than starter Jared Dudley.

He had a team-high net of plus-14 against Dallas, so good things were happening when he was on the floor, even as his offensive game continues to frustrate.

Hollis-Jefferson is a good ball-handler who sometimes mistakenly believes he is a great one, getting himself into trouble by just trying to do things he can’t/shouldn’t attempt, particularly in traffic.

But his defense makes a difference for the Nets and we may be nearing a tipping point where he reclaims the starting spot soon.