- Editor’s Note: NBC Sports Bay Area Warriors reporter Kerris Burke brings you inside the team with the Ask Kerith mailbag, just like she can all season. Send her questions on Twitter and her Instagram, @KerithBurke.
Heading into Monday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings at the Chase Center, the Warriors are 3-7 after a terrifying 0-5 road trip. Golden State has never beaten a team with a winning record and never won a road trip.
This is a funky start for the defending champions. The most common questions in the mailbag concerned trades, who’s ahead by how many minutes, and how the Warriors will take advantage of his G League. Let’s dive in.
The word panic is only used when the team has been unable to determine why they got off to a rough start. But they know why: defensive failures, second unit struggles, boxout failures, ball stagnation, turnovers, fouls.
There are a lot of things to point out and they are all connected. After the road trip the theme was accountability. Everyone looked in the mirror to make sure they were doing their part and playing harder and smarter.
The team will always have more patience than the one you see from the outside. The Warriors have a “give it time” approach when backed up by a serious commitment to improving every player.
Backed up by James Wiseman. It’s his time, that’s what they drafted him for. It’s their expectations, not the pressure. Wiseman hopes to one day be in a position to pull the reins from Kevon Looney.
With that in mind, I doubt the Warriors will add another big that could ultimately take minutes away from Wiseman and stymie his growth from a lost 2021-22 season. , the Warriors are Rooney, Draymond Green, and Development Coach Dejan Milojevic.
The Warriors will also look to their small-ball lineup to ensure they can get by without another center if everyone is healthy, and that Wiseman can survive a struggling patch.
The Warriors will stick to their roster spot when it comes to Andre Iguodala.When he decided to postpone his retirement for another year, he may not play much this season (Last season he appeared in 31 regular-season games.) But his value in the locker room is an asset. He teaches young players how to become pros.
Iguodala retires with Golden State. He has built up respect and admiration, and when his career is over, he deserves a congratulatory send-off.
Wiseman needs time and rep. There’s a reason they’re called growing pains. Some are painful to watch.
Specifically, his understanding of defensive rotations, strong screen settings and aggression around the rim are things he needs to work on.
No one is immune from criticism when it is worth it. It’s worth noting that Wiseman is struggling. He has a minus 69 total plus/minus rating heading into Monday’s game. The plus/minus isn’t a perfect statistic, but it does show that Wiseman was on the floor when the Warriors were winning. He is part of his second unit scoring problem.
When it comes to Weisman, social media is ridiculous. Social media is absurd, especially when it moves from legitimate, statistically backed criticism to conversations that imply comments like “he’s trash” and “bust.”
Calling a bust someone who hasn’t played one healthy season is an extreme. Ideally, we’ll know who the players are in 2-3 seasons. Weisman has appeared in his 49 games in the NBA.
The Warriors want to hold off sending either of these players to the G League for as long as possible.
Now, people have Jonathan Cuminga in high regard after playing a solid 38-minute game with the Pelicans.Can he piece together a collection of good games now that Kerr says Kuminga has Earned a spot in rotation?
Wiseman’s injury forced him to see the expected players on the floor to join. Perhaps Wiseman could boost his confidence by slowing the game down a bit in Santa Cruz, but the situation has to feel more hopeless. I’m not there yet.
Kerr gave Wiseman a thumbs up at practice yesterday and said: Everyone wants results right now…he has a lot to learn, but he is willing to learn.
For now, only rookies are running in the G League.
I can understand why fans are interested in a trade, but it’s not what the front office is thinking after 10 games. The Warriors don’t know what they have yet. It’s too early to say how profitable Wiseman, Kuminga and Moses Moody will be this season, and the rookies have barely played.
Additionally, the money must match. Influential veterans cost money. Probably the most the Warriors can do with trades is trade salary for salary.
Of course, you also need a trading partner. If the Warriors don’t know what they have after his 10 games, so do any other team. A deal that takes place right before the deadline requires a degree of despair that has not yet bubbled.
You make an interesting point about the social gap in teams. What’s happening in Stephen Curry’s world in his mid-30s with his family is very different from what single 20-year-olds are typically going through when they’re in college.
The young players are friendly with each other, but they don’t hang out every non-work moment. As a team, we don’t really like parties with our co-workers. Guys like each other, but they have their own lives and commitments.
An element of age-based play may be seen in the foundation of basketball skill. Leaving college early—Wiseman and Kuminga essentially bypassing college—means the NBA will become a developmental league. The rawness stands out more.
Anthony Lamb looked promising when he started in New Orleans.
A hamstring injury to Donte DiVincenzo forced the Warriors to turn to Ty Jerome as an additional ballhandler for the road trip. Well done he too!
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We’re not sure how much the Warriors want to rely on two-way players when trying to lock in rotations, but perhaps it’s wrong to predict the limited role of these players. It said it would consider all players who have proven themselves worthy of the opportunity.
The Warriors’ starters are still the best in the league, but playing more than 34-36 minutes per game isn’t ideal. It’s bad for your health in the long run, especially as you get older.
Minutes, minutes, minutes. Great tug-of-war during the season. The Warriors’ layer thickness should allow the starter to take a break once things stabilize.
