He’s a rookie, but he has juice and a brilliant feel for the game.
And aside from a second All-Star, that’s what these Warriors need as much as anything.
Brandin Podziemski played like an All-Star on Tuesday. With Steph Curry sidelined, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson ejected before points were on the board, and Andrew Wiggins and Chris Paul still playing like their best basketball is behind them, the Warriors’ hopes of beating the Timberwolves were tied to Podziemski, Dario Šarić, and Moses Moody.
Do you smell that? It’s the stink of the 2019-2020 season.
Luckily, it was only for one night.
And all three players deserve major kudos for their performances, even in a loss.
Podziemski, in particular, deserves a look every night for the Warriors. Not only was he aggressive and scored, but he also helped push the pace (a necessity for the Dubs against all teams, but especially against big squads) and showed an excellent feel for the game.
The Warriors need all of those things amid a four-game losing streak.
And while 23 points a night — like he scored Tuesday — is far too much to ask Podziemski, it’s not ridiculous to think he can chip in five if he plays 10 minutes or so a game.
But the bottom line is this: You don’t carve up the NBA’s best defense, score 23 points, and play plus defense yourself and return to sitting at the end of the bench, do you?
Find this kid a role.
The Clank Bros.
If Andrew Wiggins was going to break out of his funk and prove, again, that he can carry an offensive load for a Warriors team that desperately needs a No. 2 behind Steph Curry, Tuesday’s game was the perfect opportunity.
Given his performance, it might be foolhardy to think Wiggins is merely in a slump.
Wiggins went 4-for-15 from the floor against Minnesota, going 1-for-7 from behind the 3-point line, shooting zero free throws, tallying zero assists, and turning the ball over four times.
That is abysmal offense.
And while Wiggins played plus defense on Tuesday, the Warriors need him to be a two-way player capable of making an All-Star team.
His offense isn’t just poor; it’s benchable. The player we saw in the 2022 playoffs seems so far away.
Also far away is Chris Paul’s offensive confidence.
Paul passed up at least half a dozen open shots in a game where he needed to take them.
Some of that is Rudy Gobert looming in the paint — if I were 6-foot, I would think twice about challenging him — but most of it must be tied to Paul’s shooting struggles this year and his unselfish style of play.
But, again, if there was ever a night for Paul to be selfish, it was Tuesday.
Wiggins and Paul are providing positives for the Warriors. Wiggins’ defense is strong and Paul’s intelligence, play-making and ball control are much-needed for a Warriors team that has lacked those things with Curry sidelined in the past.
But with every poor shooting performance from the Clank Bros, it becomes more difficult to believe that regression to the mean is coming. Yes, the Timberwolves play good defense, but going 10-for-29 from the field in a game like that is unforgivable.
Let’s Get Ready to Rumble
Some quick thoughts on the ridiculous 0-0 fracas.
[Some expanded thoughts on the ridiculous 0-0 fracas.]
Absolute chaos between the Wolves and Warriors started by Klay and Jaden pic.twitter.com/QHjpuijvuc
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) November 15, 2023
• The referees and league overdid things by kicking out Thompson and Jaden McDaniels. That’s a double-tech every day of the week.
• It’s hard to argue that Draymond shouldn’t have been kicked out. Yes, he was defending a teammate, but he put Gobert in a headlock that would make Stone Cold Steve Austin proud and dragged the 7-footer away from the fray. Intent doesn’t matter — he was over the top and will probably be suspended.
• The fact that Gobert was given the benefit of the doubt regarding intent is preposterous. The pool report following the game claimed that Gobert was a “peacemaker.”
There’s no such thing if you’re wearing a jersey.
If you’re tossing folks, toss ’em all. The inconstancy is annoying.
• Green really wanted to put Gobert in a headlock, didn’t he? He saw a scuffle breaking out and made a beeline for the Timberwolves’ center. This man knows his business.
