The Nets lost a mayoral hand when Spencer Dinwiddie partially broke his ACL in Sunday’s loss to the Hornets.
As a result, Chris Chiozza seemed to jump in front of both Bruce Brown and Tyler Johnson in coach Steve Nash’s rotation. Given that he is a natural guardian, Chiozza is probably seen as more suitable for the role than the others.
In his season debut against the Grizzlies on Monday, Chiozza left the floor 5-for-14 with three triples to tie his career with 14 points. He helped anchor Nets’ second unit, which was without Caris LeVert, as he was promoted to starter, with Kyrie Irving on the second night of a back-to-back.
“Cheese gave us another ball handle tonight,” Nash said after Monday’s loss. “Without Spencer and Ky, it’s hard [load] Caris handling the ball. They were trying to take him and deny him the full field, so Cheese really helped, not only to handle the ball, but he played a few games and scored for us. ”
Brown and Johnson have not recorded a minute in the last two games, but they each saw some time in the Warriors and Celtics victories when Chiozza was inactive to start the season.
Chiozza, 25, signed his first contract with the Nets in January. In 18 games with them last season, Chiozza averaged 6.4 points in 15 and a half minutes per game. He also appeared in 10 games with the Wizards.
After signing with the Nets again on December 1, Chiozza was dropped from the training camp before signing another two-way deal on December 22.
“It’s my job to always be prepared, I found out last year when I got here,” Chiozza said. “I was thrown there when I didn’t expect it, but they do a good job of making me work every day, getting extra work when I’m not playing.
“You never want to see your teammate hurt you and pray for Spencer, we’re here for him, we hope he comes back soon. He is an important part of this team. While he’s out, we take him, everyone takes him, to do a little more than we did, collectively. “