Despite losing to the Milwaukee
Bucks, 129-118, on Saturday night, the Golden State Warriors left
the game with a silver lining: Their young guys outran and
outhustled the contending Bucks, giving them a hard time all game
long.
The Warriors even led 56-54 at
the half, and it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Bucks
were able to pull away completely. Milwaukee used their veteran
savvy in the fourth to defeat the youthful Warriors squad, who were
playing without their captain and superstar Stephen Curry
(rest).
Even though they came up short,
the young guns showed they have the ability to compete against an
elite team, which the Warriors can possibly build upon once Curry
and Draymond Green return to the lineup. This showing also gives
Golden State’s front office a number of things to consider as the
Feb. 8 trade deadline approaches.
With that said, let’s break down
how the Warriors’ young core performed and how they nearly managed
to upset the Bucks without their leading scorer.
First, the youthful Warriors ran
the old Bucks off the floor. Without Curry, head coach Steve Kerr
started rookie Brandin Podziemski at point guard. With Podz at
helm, the Warriors pushed the pace. Save for some early sets for
Klay Thompson, Golden State was up and running and tried to beat
Milwaukee in transition all game long. Even slow-footed power
forward Dario Saric was leading the break at some points, trying to
turn up the tempo and outrun the Bucks.
If there was one possession that
encapsulated what the Warriors tried to do, it was this one in the
second quarter. Following a made basket by the Bucks, Jonathan
Kuminga ran the length of the floor, beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and
challenged Brook Lopez at the rim in the process to make a quick
counter:
I like the mindset here. Bucks’ Achilles
heel on defense this season has been in transition. Off of a made
bucket, JK pushes the pace and lays the ball over Brook. pic.twitter.com/PK8KkPUocJ– Joe Viray (@joeviraynba)
January 14, 2024
Kuminga breezed through the
entire Milwaukee defense and jumped in the air before Lopez could
get there. The Dubs just ran and ran, putting pressure on the Bucks
(the NBA’s oldest team).
Secondly, the young Warriors
played hard; they deserve credit for their effort and energy.
Without their best player and the hub of their system, the Warriors
leaned on their youth and athleticism to challenge the Bucks, who
were coming off their biggest win of the season (drubbing the
Boston Celtics).
It started with Podziemski, who
was playing in his home state of Wisconsin. He had a great game,
recording a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds on
impressive 10-of-14 shooting.
The No. 19 overall selection was
active off the bounce, blowing by opponents and squeezing his way
through the defense. He was also brilliant off the catch, where he
got a couple of baskets off of stampede runs to the rim:
Interesting that the Bucks are actually hard
hedging here w/ Portis as their 5. Puts them in rotation, Podz
takes advantage w/ a face cut. pic.twitter.com/QDTFb7q9XZ– Joe Viray (@joeviraynba)
January 14, 2024
The 20-year-old out of Santa
Clara also exhibited uncanny can’t-teach instincts. In one play in
the fourth quarter, he knew exactly what fellow rookie Andre
Jackson Jr. would do, intercepting his pass to get an easy
transition dunk on the other end. Podziemski’s feel as a rookie has
been impressive and he fits nicely with the Warriors’
core.
The Warriors’ other rookie,
Trayce Jackson-Davis, also contributed by scoring 12 points in 18
minutes and making his presence felt inside for Golden
State.
The No. 57 overall pick used his
quick first bounce to freeze Bucks defenders on the floor and get
easy baskets at the rim, scoring on plays like these:
Also, Jackson-Davis has been
developing chemistry with Thompson, and he’s often the beneficiary
of their pindown screens when two defenders blitz Thompson. In the
previous game against the Chicago Balls, he had four easy buckets
off of passes from Klay alone.
The Klay-to-TJD tandem produced four easy
baskets, including three dunks. pic.twitter.com/Y8uUr7m1Gb— Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe)
January 13, 2024
In this instance, Klay and TJD
had a nice give-and-go in a little two-man game for an easy bucket
underneath.
Klay to TJD two-man game pic.twitter.com/Ai3JItodo1
– Mon Anthony Valmoria (@morval_)
January 15, 2024
The 6-foot-9 center/forward has
been a much better play-finisher than starting center Kevon Looney.
He uses his athleticism to factor in on offense and serves as a lob
threat. The 23-year-old gives the Warriors a new outlook at the big
position. While Green and Looney are screeners and their main
priority is getting guys open, Jackson-Davis is someone who looks
to score and put pressure at the rim.
Finally, Jonathan Kuminga is
becoming more and more polished as a scorer. Although there are
ways he can still improve (like his feel for Golden State’s
system), he’s finally arrived as a dependable
scorer.
Off the bounce, Kuminga uses his
body and strength to shield the ball away from defenders and
utilizes his quick first bounce to get to the rim first before his
defender can challenge him up top. The third-year player from the
G-League Ignite is explosive, and he never gives his defender a
chance to react.
Kuminga has also added a
developing three-point shot to his arsenal, which forces defenders
to respect his shooting and opens up his game even more.
The 21-year-old had arguably the
best two-game stretch of his young career recently, scoring 24
points and 28 points in back-to-back games. This is the best he has
played in his three years in the league, looking like a reliable
scoring option who could get buckets at will.
Kuminga is looking more and more
comfortable, and he has scored in double digits in his last 19
games.
***
The absence of Curry in this
game unlocked the Warriors’ young guys and showed what they are
capable of. The challenge now is whether Golden State’s young core
can continue producing at this level once Curry and Green are
back.
The youngsters’ athleticism and
energy could help Golden State as they try to right the ship. The
Warriors currently have the fourth-worst record in the Western
Conference, so Kerr might have to tinker a bit and cater to the
strengths of his current personnel rather than trying to force them
to fit in his system.
Do the Warriors think the kids
can help Curry and Co. compete for a title? Or was this just an
audition for other teams and a way to improve the youngsters’ trade
value so they can be flipped for win-now pieces?
Regardless, the kids can clearly
play given the right environment and opportunity.
