This week on Dubs Talk Monte Poole and Kerith Burke look at Steve Kerr and the Warriors heavy usage of Golden State’s two-way players, and discuss what that might mean going forward.
Ty Jerome is in his first season with the Warriors and, as a guard, has the opportunity to learn from Steph Curry, one of the best to play the position.
While the 25-year-old is likely to pick parts of Curry's game, Jerome doesn't plan on replicating what the Warriors' star does that has made him successful during his 14-year NBA career.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"I think one of the first things I realized [after signing with the Warriors] is, like, don't try to recreate what Steph does," Jerome told Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner on the latest episode of "Point Forward."
"Don't even waste my time trying to. Appreciate it and there's, like, little stuff you can add to your game," Jerome added. "Like, I watched him work out the other day, and the speed he goes at is crazy in his workouts. Like, it's insane. He cuts like he's in a game. He'll cut from the right wing and he'll finish a cut and end up on the left corner and shoot a shot. And in the game, he runs around like that and I'm like 'Nah, that dude does it in the practice gym by himself.'
"So I watched that part, and it's like, all right, when you want to implement something, you got to go game speed. But I'm not going to shoot look-away [3-pointers] and I'm not going to throw behind-the-back passes from the top of the key to the left wing. He plays freedom that's, like, I can't replicate."
Jerome also noted that there's a higher standard he needs to hold himself to now with the Warriors, as opposed to the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he spent the last two seasons.
Golden State Warriors
Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
"It is iron sharpens iron because the expectation of myself now has to raise, and if I play well and we lose, I feel like s--t, you know what I mean?" Jerome said. "But in Oklahoma City, I play well and we lose, and I'm chilling.
"And that's part of the reason why I wanted to get out of there and come here so bad because you got to win here. It makes the game more fun, and I think all that pressure is just beneficial for my game."
RELATED: Steve Kerr knows Warriors have tough Anthony Lamb, Ty Jerome decisions
Jerome has appeared in 25 games this season and is averaging 7.2 points per game off the bench while shooting 50 percent from the field. Signed to a two-way contract before the season, the four-year NBA veteran can suit up for 25 more games before he reaches his limit of 50, per NBA rules. The Warriors could sign Jerome or fellow two-way player Anthony Lamb to the vacant 15th roster spot before either reaches the limit.
But with Curry, Iguodala and Andrew Wiggins healthy and playing, the Warriors might be able to get Jerome and Lamb to the end of the season without exhausting their 50-game limits.
For now, as long as he is with the Warriors, Jerome plans to soak up as much knowledge as he can from Curry without trying to replicate the two-time NBA MVP.