Spencer Dinwiddie injured, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot grabs the ball on the jump

When Spencer Dinwiddie bit the dust shortly after the Charlotte’s court break on Sunday night, Steve Nash first called on Landry Shamet. The former Clippers sniper didn’t quite do the trick, fielding three failed 3-point attempts (0/8 overall in this game), including a blocked shot and a stray ball. The new Brooklyn coach then had the good idea to launch Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot.

As had already been the case in the “bubble”, the Frenchman did not miss the opportunity to show what he was capable of. In a complementary role, taking advantage of the spaces freed by the Irving-Durant pair, “TLC” did the job by passing 11 points to 4/4 shooting (including 3/3 to 3 points) in 12 minutes.

A place to take in the rotation

Enough to ensure a significant playing time for the next match against the Grizzles, without the Irving-Durant pair and therefore without Spencer Dinwiddie, absent for the rest of the season.

The next day, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot then integrated the five major and played 40 minutes during which he was able to show a little more to Steve Nash, continuing to play just despite the defeat and a little wasted shooting (21 points, 7/17 shooting including 3/10 3-point, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 against).

Over the last two games, the results are in any case positive for the French.

“It’s always great to be able to learn from defeats, especially like this one, where I personally made some mistakes at the end”, he said after finishing the game against Memphis with three failed long attempts and two stray balls. “It’s good to take mistakes, learn from them, move forward. And obviously hope for a better result. But we must take them and learn the lessons ”.

A mind now foolproof

After having already impressed his teammates during the “training camp”, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot once again stood out by taking up the challenge that imposed on him. « Next man up mentality », as his teammate Joe Harris points out to indicate the “TLC” scout state of mind, always ready when called.

Brought to lead the “second unit”, Caris LeVert also appreciated the way the Frenchman was able to raise his level of play to face an unforeseen situation.

“Tim played very well”, he added. “He was confident he got shots. It is not easy to do. Especially what he did to Charlotte, sit still the entire game and then come in and drop three huge 3-pointers. And the same against Memphis, as soon as he entered the game, he took his shots without thinking. That’s all you can ask a shooter to have a short memory and take a shot. I think he’s done a great job since he’s been with us, making progress. He also widened his palette a bit ”.

While Steve Nash must activate behind the scenes on how he will compensate for the absence of Spencer Dinwiddie, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot has indicated that he has not spoken with his coach to specifically discuss the role he could play. But the French rear / winger, who will also have to wait until the end of February for his contract year to be fully guaranteed, knows he will have the opportunity to show what he is capable of on the pitch.