of golden state warriors trying to start preseasonI don’t expect you to stay up until 3am to watch a game in Japan (and don’t expect me to stay up until 3am to cover it), but peruse the box scores. , to catch the highlights. , perhaps watch the replay.
After two games with Washington WizardsDubs will return home for preseason game Oct. 9 los angeles lakersThat way it will be a little easier to follow them.
Lots to watch over 5 games before repeating quests From October 18thWhat I’m careful about is the following 7 things.
The Consolation of James Wiseman
We all know James Wiseman’s physical prowess. He’s incredibly tall, massive, and incredibly athletic. He has a soft touch around the rim and a pretty decent jump shot. He struggles defensively, fouls a lot, has problems catching passes, and he often prefers to stay away from the basket rather than closer to it.
These things don’t change overnight. He goes into the season with its strengths as its strengths and its weaknesses as its weaknesses, further improving the former and working on the latter.
What we still don’t know is his comfort level. The Warriors’ read-and-react offense is simple in concept but incredibly difficult to master. The Warriors have battled many talented players who haven’t kept up with the system, especially centers (hi Damian Jones).
Wiseman is a huge question mark in that area. If he looks happy playing and making decisions, he will solidify himself as a key contributor for years to come. We may already be counting down his days in a Warriors jersey.
Kindery Wetherspoons
Nothing is on the lookout for Kinderley Wetherspoons in particular. just looking at him. Wetherspoon opens camp on a two-way deal, and like previous Warriors two-ways like Quinn Cook and Damion Lee, he feels like a bigger part of the roster than the two-way designation suggests. He’s on the team’s social posts. He gets more time from the public relations department.
Fans aren’t thrilled about this because Wetherspoons didn’t look good last year for a limited amount of time. ) really likes I don’t think they fill the 15th spot on the roster.
rookie health
Some of the best news to come out of camp is that two Warriors rookies, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins, healthyNeither player was able to compete in the summer league (the former with an ankle injury and the latter with a stress fracture in the leg), and there were doubts as to whether they would be in good health before entering training camp.
Both have assured the media they are, but we’ll have to see that in court. Playing basketball games is another animal. Rollins said he hasn’t been able to shape himself into the game, even after sitting still for so long.
Notice if they look healthy and move comfortably on the court.
Jonathan Kuminga Domination
Jonathan Kuminga’s role is pending at the beginning of the year. The rookie’s mistakes and out-of-control play could put him in a small bench role again. Step forward and take control and he might be off the bench for 20+ minutes every night.
I’m looking to see if he’s playing in control. Young players, especially lottery winners, have a temptation to show off. Kuminga has the raw talent and athleticism to do so. But to get some serious minutes, he’ll need to show a lot of control through his athleticism and disciplined defense.
It starts in preseason.
highlight of the camp
Unlike last year, with the likes of Gary Payton II, Avery Bradley and Mychal Mulder vying for roster spots, there aren’t as many camp battles here. We fully expect the Warriors to start the season without filling his 15th roster spot. And I’m sure Weatherspoon will hold his one of the two-way spots.
If there is a roster match, it will most likely be a second two-way deal. That contract is currently held by Lester Quinones, but many Warriors fans are obsessed with Mac McClung and Trevion Williams. We will see if there are any.
PBJ Jumper
One of the early stories of training camp was Baldwin’s jumper. looks really cleanAccording to scouts’ reports of Baldwin’s admission to college, he had a slick jumper, which was clearly not shown in his 11-game run in college ball games.
It’s too early to tell if PBJ will be a good shooter this year, or in his career, but we’ll see what his jumper looks like. professing that he hopes to work hard on defense and rebounding for… if he proves to the coaching staff that he is a reliable choice when left alone beyond the arc, that task becomes easier.
health
You may have noticed that I didn’t mention top players. Because we know who Stephen Curry is. We know who Draymond Green is. We know who Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney and Andre Iguodala are. For the most part, Donte DiVincenzo and he even know who JaMychal Green is. You could argue that we don’t know who this year’s Klay Thompson is, but whatever he does in preseason won’t change that.
But the four-ring core of Steph, Clay, Dray and Andre are all a year older and have had injury problems in their careers.
Please greet Dubs on October 18th. That’s all.
