The NBA preseason is less about winning and more about building cohesion and developing chemistry, both of which require a fair amount of experimentation.
The Warriors will find plenty of lessons when they review the video of Friday night’s 129-125 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.
After drawing a strict line between starters and reserves in last week’s preseason opener, coach Steve Kerr has allowed some freedom in the rotation, occasionally allowing members of the second unit to share the court with the starters. Ta. Results were mixed.
Stephen Curry had a sharp performance, adding 18 points, four assists, and three rebounds in 21 minutes. None of the starters played more than the 22 minutes that Klay Thompson played, posting eight points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Below are three observations from the second of Golden State’s five preseason games.
Paul is struggling in his field of expertise.
Chris Paul’s 18-year career has pretty much defined the offensive role of a traditional point guard. Although he is a capable scorer, his main role is to control the tempo and ensure stability for the unit. It’s his bag.
In this game, CP3 had a hole in his bag.
Possibly the league’s best practitioner of ball security, Paul consistently ranks among the highest in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio, committing five turnovers in 20 minutes. Some were related to miscommunication, some were simply below his standards.
Some of the mistakes are a natural result of playing in the second game with new teammates. Even veterans will make mistakes because it’s part of the learning process. Kevin Durant and Curry didn’t start meshing together until the Warriors had played about 25 regular season games.
Expect Paul to transition quickly. He’ll understand that because he’s always done it – and he’s been with five teams in the past. There’s no need to panic, just yet.
The defense looks familiar, but not in a good way.
The Warriors went 11-30 on the road last season, but perhaps nothing deserves more blame than their defense. It was like dropping it off at Chase Center before getting on the bus to the airport.
That troubling trend carried over into the first preseason game.
The Lakers scored 70 points in the first half, which was important because they were playing primarily against Golden State’s rotation players. LA shot 54.8 percent from the field, including an impressive 55.6 percent from beyond the arc. While he certainly deserves credit for his good shooting, much of his production was against a defense that was alternately soft and sloppy.
Yes, another problem that plagued Golden State last season, too many fouls, has resurfaced. The Warriors were whistled 27 times and the Lakers were blown 19 times. LA took a decisive 37-26 lead on free throw attempts.
Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis committed four fouls in the first two of a total of 11 minutes trying to protect nine-time All-Star Anthony Davis, but several veterans were also called into action. Joined the. Chris Paul had four fouls in 20 minutes and Kevon Looney had three fouls in 11 minutes.
Coach Kerr has said many times that strengthening the defense is the key to regaining contender status. Draymond Green’s absence (left ankle sprain) is also a factor, but there’s a lot of work to be done.
“Podz” delivers an impressive performance.
Midway through the preseason, Warriors coaches and veterans have been impressed with rookie Brandin Podzemski’s approach to the game and his sense of timing and placement. It was on display Friday night.
The guards they call “Podz” or “BP” have a way of getting to the gaps and seeing in real time what benefits the team. He primarily played in the second unit and committed six turnovers in the first nine minutes.
Podzemski’s eyebrow-raising pass slipped through LA’s defense and into the hands of Gary Payton II, who caught it and turned it into an easy dunk.
Podzemski had 10 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and zero turnovers in 26 minutes. Through two preseason games, he had 21 points, 14 assists, 12 rebounds, and two turnovers in 52 minutes. He finished with a team-best plus-16 on Friday night.
He’s not expected to do much in the NBA this season, but his accomplishments at Santa Clara University show why the Warriors believe he’s a goalie.
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