- Editor’s note: Kerith Burke, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Warriors reporter, takes you inside the team as only she can throughout the season with the Ask Kerith Mailbag. Send her a question on Twitter and Instagram, @KerithBurke.
Hi everyone! I’m coming off the high of ring night and being blinded by all those diamonds. Did you read about all the details packed into the bling? Pretty cool.
Some reporters go their entire careers without covering a championship team. As I head into my sixth season covering Golden State, I feel lucky to call this work. Time for the first mailbag of the season!
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Fans are going to hear this a lot this season: Depth is a nice problem to have. Steve Kerr said when he looks at this roster, he’s reminded of the 2014-2015 Strength in Numbers team. That was a championship team, as I’m sure you remember.
The starters know they’ll get their minutes. And if the Warriors can put blowouts on the scoreboard, the starters will have no problem playing only 30 mins a night so they can rest. Strength in Numbers works best when everyone knows their roles, which is a kind way of saying, know your place in the pecking order.
What’s changed this season is James Wiseman is ready to play. Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga were patient last season with little playing time, but when they’re itching to show their Year-2 gains, will the patience get thinner? Jordan Poole wants to continue to explode. Donte DiVencenzo is ready to show he’s healthy and valuable. Don’t forget JaMychal Green and Andre Iguodala in this puzzle of playing time. Plus every rookie in the history of rookies wants to jump right in as well.
Golden State Warriors
For the guys who want more minutes than they’re getting in games, the key is to make use of practice time. Treat every day like your bosses are watching, because they are. “Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready” is a worthwhile cliche.
Film study is important to know your personnel when a reserve player is dropped into the game. Playing good defense is a way to stay on the floor. And keeping a positive attitude goes far.
Certainly, having fewer minutes on Golden State’s roster outweighs playing 36 minutes a night on a crummy team.
In my mind, all of these guys have made a case for graduating from G League stints, but a log jam of players who deserve minutes might mean they have to go to stay fresh.
Wiseman is the exception, I think he’ll play enough regular minutes to stay up with the big club all season. Moody and Kuminga may need G League time to keep their legs and lungs at game speed. I wonder if they would have cranky feelings about going to Santa Cruz (But we’re champions! C’mon Steve!) but I think those feelings would be met with stern looks from team leaders.
Rookies Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins will be in Santa Cruz often.
There’s a positive, changing tide when it comes to how the G League is seen. The language says players “drop down,” but it’s a valuable tool to give low-minute players a place to run hard and dominate the competition. Those factors go a long way for confidence.
Wiseman is my pick too. He’s ready. It’s exciting to stop talking about his potential as a lob threat and actually see it in action. His hook shot excites me. If he can add some blocks on defense, whew.
Jordan Poole had an interesting answer about his two-man game developing with Wiseman. Poole explained, “Still trying to find ways to get James at the right angles on the screen.” Both Draymond Green and Kevon Looney are helping Wiseman learn the angles.
Poole said he and Wiseman are working on their cadence together, and Poole is discovering where Wiseman likes passes, whether it’s in place for an immediate pull-up or a lob on the backside.
A connection with teammates comes with time and familiarity. Seeing Wiseman on the floor after he went through a whole season of rehab for his knee is meaningful.
Acknowledging Kuminga’s athleticism makes him capable of 18 and 8 nights, but he probably won’t get long enough, consistent minutes to reach those stat lines frequently. The priority for Kuminga will be selecting smart shots, rebounding hard, limiting turnovers, and playing attentive defense.
I’ll take it further: Defense is the number one thing any player can do to get minutes on a Steve Kerr team. Period.
This season is Kerr’s ninth as a head coach, giving him the third-longest tenure behind Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) and Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat).
Kerr’s 57 years old. My sense is, when he considers his future, it’s based on what he wants for his family, how he feels physically, and whether the job still excites him. By all indications, the job still excites him!
He cares about his players, but I doubt he’d attach his decisions to anyone’s prime. It would be storybook for fans to see Kerr coach Steph Curry until he finishes his career, but Kerr ultimately makes his decisions based on one man. Himself.
I detect a young player who is trying to shift the conversation to basketball, move through some feelings of anger, and compete for another championship. Ultimately, I see a professional doing his best.
One thing that bothered me when it came to Draymond’s barely-there punishment is the idea that “Jordan seems fine with it.” We have no idea if Jordan is fine with it! If he’s furious, he would never blast off his true feelings in public anyway. If he’s feeling better but decides to give a tactical answer to a question about healing, people will doubt his chill demeanor. They’ll find him cagey, or assume he’s lying and start projecting Jordan’s feelings. He’s in a situation he can’t win.
Jordan and Draymond sit next to each other in the locker room. They play together, they travel together, they have a common goal this season. They will co-exist as professionals. Jordan may never reveal how he really feels, and that’s his right. Nor is it our place to pester him about forgiveness.
It makes me mad that Jordan will get questions about the punch all season. The guy who deserves those questions is Draymond.
Yes. In fact, the Looney will be screening for the Steph statue.
Hold on a minute, who says it won’t be Looney? He’ll be in the running!
If I had to guess how the dunk totals finish, I’ll go Wiseman, Looney, Kuminga, Moody.
If the Warriors have a healthy season, I’m certain they’ll be a playoff team with a chance to go back-to-back.
So many things can happen in a season that I dislike making huge predictions. I feel good saying they’ll win 50+ games and I’ll land on 54.
Follow Kerith on Twitter @KerithBurke and on Instagram @KerithBurke, and, of course, watch her on NBC Sports Bay Area’s Warriors coverage all season.