The Nets lost a primary ball-handler when Spencer Dinwiddie partially tore his ACL in Sunday’s loss to the Hornets.
As a result, Chris Chiozza appeared to stay ahead of both Bruce Brown and Tyler Johnson in coach Steve Nash’s rotation. Since he’s a natural point guard, Chiozza is probably seen as more suited to the role than the others.
In his season debut against the Grizzlies on Monday, Chiozza hit the floor 5-for-14 with three 3-pointers to even his career-high by 14 points. He helped anchor the second unit of the Nets, which was without Caris LeVert as he was promoted to starter with Kyrie Irving sitting back-to-back the second night.
“Cheese has given us another ball handler tonight,” Nash said after Monday’s loss. ‘Without Spencer and Ky, tough [load] on Caris handling the ball. They tried to take him away and deny the full field, so Cheese really helped, not only handle the ball, but he made some plays and scored for us. ”
Brown and Johnson have not recorded minutes for the past two games, but each saw some time in the victories over the Warriors and Celtics when Chiozza was inactive to start the season.
25-year-old Chiozza signed his first mutual deal with the Nets in January. In 18 games with them last season, Chiozza scored an average of 6.4 points in 15 ½ minutes per game. He also appeared in 10 games with the Wizards.
After re-signing with the Nets on December 1, Chiozza was waived at the end of training camp before signing another contract on December 22.
“My job is to always be ready, I learned that when I got here last year,” said Chiozza. “I got kicked out when I wasn’t expecting it, but they do a good job of working every day, getting extra work when I’m not playing.
“You never want your teammate to get hurt and pray for Spencer, we’re here for him, hopefully he will return soon. He’s a big part of this team. While he’s gone we take it, everyone takes it, to do a little bit more than we did together. “