ALLEN CRABBE RETURNS
Atkinson spoke at length with Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie, and likes the idea of playing the point guards together and using Isaiah Whitehead as a backup.
”I like it. I liked them together. Isaiah was really good the other night,” Atkinson said. “Out of our whole group, he was probably our best one. He really did a good job. So that’s something I’ve thought about. He earned himself some credibility. Really good job.
“You need that third point guard to get those guys together a little more. … But I do like Spencer and D’Angelo together. I like having two pick-and-roll ball-handlers. That’s what I missed about Jeremy, that was cool that we could go either side. I like it, if they could be a solution.”
“For us, he’s a starter. In the beginning we had him in and out because he was on a minutes restriction. Now we popped him into the starting lineup. He’s got to be able to be an elite starter in this league. That should be his goal,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “He’s trying to get his rhythm, and [we’re] challenging him to be more consistent. … But [he’s] doing great. We love him.”
It’s a product of us not being in sync. … We’ve tried small-ball more than I’d like. I don’t think that’s conducive to take a screener off the floor. He needs screens to get open,” Atkinson said. “He needs a team to function for him to be efficient. That’s on me. That’s on our offense functioning well. When we function well he gets 20, 25 points.
“Listen, I’m not making excuses for him. He still hasn’t caught his full rhythm yet. It’s going to get there … and it’s on him a little, too. In Portland you could be [hot] one or two out of every five nights. Now with us, we need it every night. You can take once in a while that maybe you don’t have it. But we just need more consistency from him.”
