After every week of coaching camp practices full of recent set performs and terminology, the Warriors put their progress to the check.
Golden State received the primary half — the one wherein the starters performed — 53 to 49. They ran in transition like they’ve been speaking about whereas trialing completely different lineup mixtures. Each groups struggled from behind the 3-point arc, however the Warriors’ protection was barely extra tuned than that of the Clippers whereas they performed at full-strength.
When the sport was on the road, each groups had their non-rostered and two-way gamers on the courtroom. For the Warriors, that meant rookie heart Quinten Submit had the ball in his fingers, which didn’t work out. Submit dedicated two turnovers whereas Golden State trailed by a degree.
Then, after two failed inbounds performs, Lindy Waters III canned the walk-off 3 as time expired, lifting the Warriors to a 91-90 win within the Stan Sheriff Middle on the College of Hawaii at Manoa. Waters hit 5 3s, scored a game-high 15 factors and was first greeted by a chest-bump from Steph Curry after his game-winner.
Now the Warriors are heading again to the mainland after every week in Hawaii. Listed here are three takeaways from the Golden State victory.
The beginning look
Steve Kerr cautioned reporters to not learn an excessive amount of into lineup mixtures, significantly the starters, within the preseason. He mentioned the starting-five within the first preseason sport in all probability received’t be the identical because the common season opener.
However… it is likely to be.
Golden State went with Steph Curry, De’Anthony Melton, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Inexperienced and Trayce Jackson-Davis towards Los Angeles. With Andrew Wiggins (sickness) out, Kuminga was virtually a lock. Melton, a defensive ace with a historical past of 3-point accuracy, ought to pair nicely within the again courtroom with Curry.
The Warriors need to play a middle — seemingly Jackson-Davis — subsequent to Inexperienced. The query then turns into how viable Kuminga, a profession 34.1%, low-volume 3-point shooter, suits subsequent to them.
Kuminga believes he’s a small ahead. It’s the place he’s performed his whole life. How nicely he shoots it from deep might decide how typically he performs the place or revert again to an influence ahead — the spot Kerr considers him finest at.
“We’ve got to see,” Kerr instructed reporters pregame in Honolulu. “Because last year, we didn’t feel comfortable going that route. We would love to play Draymond at the four, Trayce gives us a shot-blocker next to him. We want to play JK. And if he’s ready for the 3, and it works with those guys, then we’ll see. Then we’ll adapt. Now’s the time to try these things and see which combinations work and which ones don’t.”
Kerr gave the group a seven-minute audition to start the sport. Inexperienced and Jackson-Davis seemed particularly sturdy defensively, forcing turnovers and affecting photographs on the rim. The unit additionally displayed terrific athleticism, getting out on the break a number of occasions — a Kuminga dunk and a Jackson-Davis alley-oop had been highlights — which is a degree of emphasis for the Warriors.
Golden State fell behind early with the starting-five, however went on a 9-0 run fueled by protection and operating. The spacing wasn’t nice, and the shortage of Brandin Podziemski’s playmaking was felt, however the starters usually held their very own.
How a lot can Moody show within the preseason?
As anticipated, Moody was the eleventh man to play for the Warriors. Which means with Wiggins again within the fold, he’s the twelfth man. No coach likes to go 12 deep.
Which means, as soon as once more, Moody is headed for rotational purgatory — by means of no fault of his personal.
When Moody checked in, he immediately made an influence. He blocked a shot then minimize backdoor for a dunk off a pleasant feed from Kuminga within the submit. Then he swiped a steal and acquired fouled on the opposite finish. Moments later, he drilled a pull-up 3 after which a catch-and-shoot triple from the nook. In eight Moody minutes, the Warriors received by 11.
Moody acquired to the road to open the second half then hit a pull-up jumper, getting his defender to detect a drive in isolation. That gave him 12 factors in as many minutes. He hunted his 3-point shot and acquired it off rapidly — a precedence for him this offseason — and compelled a steal that led to a runout.
Moody completed with 12 factors in 13 minutes and was a game-high +14. He shot 4-for-9 and added two steals, a block and 4 rebounds.
Who’s going to get to the rim?
The Warriors did a platoon substitution, placing Brandin Podziemski, Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield, Gary Payton II and Kevon Looney on the ground after the starters.
That group won’t see the ground all collectively for the complete yr. However it begs the query: When Curry and Kuminga are off the ground, who’s going to place stress on the rim within the half courtroom?
After a pair of Anderson free throws, the Warriors took 5 straight 3-pointers. None of them had been horrible seems, however there wasn’t loads of paint touches.
Golden State had no drawback getting photographs on the rim in transition, however the half courtroom was a special story. Twelve of the group’s first 20 discipline aim makes an attempt got here from behind the arc. Perhaps a number of the new units and extra construction the group has been engaged on will assist that.
Kerr has mentioned the Warriors need to be a high-volume 3-point capturing group. However there’s all the time a steadiness to strike.
Initially Revealed: October 5, 2024 at 6:32 p.m.
