SAN FRANCISCO – With the clock running down late in the fourth quarter, Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski had a clear lane to the basket and tried to take advantage of it.
But Podziemski was worried about Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic coming from behind and blocking the shot, so the 21-year-old switched up and attempted to flip the ball in with his left hand.
For Podziemski, it seemed like a sure thing. No pun intended, it was a layup in a season when the he has been effective and productive at almost every turn.
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But the potential game-tying shot, coming with seven seconds remaining, didn’t fall. The Bulls grabbed the rebound then held on for a 125-122 victory over the Warriors on Thursday that wiped out any residual momentum that Golden State gained from its blowout win over the Milwaukee Bucks a night earlier.
“Honestly, when I was going to the rim I thought (Vucevic) was still behind me,” Podziemski told NBC Sports Bay Area. “In hindsight I looked back at the replay and Trayce (Jackson-Davis) kind of clipped him, so I was really wide open. But since I thought he was behind me and he could have chased it down and blocked it if I used my right hand, because that’s what he would expect, that’s why I tried to scoop it quick with the left. I didn’t know Trayce kind of hit him.
“In hindsight you could say, ‘Yeah, I should have used my right hand’ but I didn’t. I didn’t think I’d be able to get it up because I thought he was behind me trailing.”
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Podziemski has done just about everything right during his rookie season with the Warriors while quickly assimilating to the NBA level and Golden State’s style of play.
When Podziemski raced around Vucevic, nearly everyone at Chase Center assumed that he was going to continue that trend and score. It seemed a no-brainer.
When it didn’t go down and when the Warriors lost, however, Podziemski didn’t try to hide or shy away from taking responsibility. In another example of his growth and maturity, he faced questions about the play with the same kind of fervor that fans have grown accustomed to from him on the court: Straight on with no excuses.
And he’s ready to move past it as quickly as possible, just like the Warriors flushed their frustrations that lingered from the Boston Blowout last Sunday.
“In the NBA you have to,” Podziemski said. “You look at it, obviously a whole bunch of things contribute to a win or loss, and it’s not just one moment. I know that. I’m just going to look back at what I could have done better throughout the whole course of the game, not just in that moment. I’ll improve on it and be ready for Saturday.
“For guys that take those kind of shots, it’s all about how you bounce back. For me (that) is just going out there and hooping and playing well Saturday, just showing what you’re about.”
The timing of the miss made it all the more crucial. Podziemski had made four of six shots and was enjoying another solid all-around evening before coming up short in the clutch.
“If I missed it with seven minutes to go in the second quarter, nobody’s saying anything,” Podziemski said. “Everything’s magnified based on situation. But for me, I want to be a great player. Great players take those shots and sometimes make them, sometimes miss them.”
It’s all part of the learning process for the Warriors’ younger players. Draymond Green, whose fouling out of the game in the fourth quarter also was a big factor, believes it could be a benefit to the team in the long run.
“It’s a part of the job. You are going to succeed, you are going to fail,” Green said. “You have to deal with those failures the same way that you deal with the successes. Don’t put too much into it. (Younger players) will learn from it and they will be fine.”