The JV Warriors blow out the JV Trail Blazers 131-98 in their final preseason game without Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Donte DiVincenzo handles the ball, James Wiseman looks increasingly at ease, Jonathan Kuminga frustrates, the Warriors' training camp invitees get their likely last opportunities, and more.
The Warriors’ 131-98 preseason victory over the Portland Trail Blazers will inevitably be shadowed by Steve Kerr's post-game announcement that Draymond Green will return to the team on Thursday and will not be suspended for punching Jordan Poole in the face during practice last week. Tonight’s game wasn’t all that important to begin with — Steve Kerr sat Steph Curry, Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevon Looney — so the most interesting thing about the game was always going to be minutes for the Warriors’ young and/or fringe players.
To that point, every Warrior that came into the game tonight played at least 12 minutes and scored at least 4 points. JaMychal Green and Moses Moody scored 20 points apiece, James Wiseman had his best game of the preseason with 18 points in as many minutes, and Donte DiVincenzo had 10 assists in the 23 minutes that he operated as the Warriors’ lead guard.
If you want a big story of the night, that’s probably the one — DiVincenzo looked like an overqualified third point guard. Steve Kerr has long yearned for a pass-first point guard and while DiVincenzo has always been shoehorned as a combo guard, he’s been a solid passer since his rookie season with the Milwaukee Bucks and looks far better handling the ball than former Kerr favorites like Brad Wanamaker and Nico Mannion.
DiVincenzo, is, however, just 3/13 on threes in the preseason and only has made one two-point field goal on three attempts. In his four years in the league, DiVincenzo’s finishing has gotten worse with each year and no season would be complete without at least one Warrior losing their aggression on offense — my early money is on DiVincenzo getting a little too eager to pass, but if he keeps handling like he did tonight, that might not be a bad thing.
Other players of notes and various observations before we get into rotation watch and game film:
JaMychal Green hit four threes — he hadn’t hit one in the preseason before tonight — and was a force on the glass with eight rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end. Green looks like more of a 90’s power forward or modern-day stretch 5 on offense than he does a converted wing like Otto Porter Jr., but he’s been a great fit with the Warriors through four preseason games and it was very encouraging to see him hit outside shots.
Moses Moody’s 20 points came on a very balanced diet of shots: he went 3/6 from deep, made several tough finishes, and shot 6 free throws in 23 minutes. Through four preseason games, Moody is shooting 10.6 threes per 36 minutes, but this was the first time that he’d taken a free throw. I’d like to see him maintain that type of physical aggression.
James Wiseman looked as comfortable as he ever has within the Warriors’ offense. His 18 points were a cherry on top, in my opinion, of a night of patient playmaking out of the post and purposeful drives and finishes near and around the rim.
Ryan Rollins had 12 points and 5 assists in 16 minutes and looked more comfortable handling the ball than he has in previous games, but he also picked up 5 fouls and struggled with NBA-level physicality. Those physical struggles also applied to Patrick Baldwin Jr., who picked up three quick fouls defending drivers from the perimeter and still has only made one two-point field goal.
Quinndary Weatherspoon made solid passes tonight and played quality defense, as did Anthony Lamb, who hit a pair of threes. I haven’t been very impressed by Lamb’s offensive game, but he seems to be a disruptive defender and looked surprisingly sturdy defending in the interior. At one point, he and Jonathan Kuminga traded possessions guarding Jusuf Nurkic and they both held up surprisingly well.
Jonathan Kuminga’s defensive contributions were probably his part of the game, and generally speaking, the most positive aspect of his preseason. After another stubborn offensive performance, Kuminga is now shooting 36% from the field and 22.2% from deep. Kuminga took five three tonight and made just one. He did, however, go 3/4 from the line and is now 13/16 on free throws in the preseason and is shooting 5.6 FTA/36 minutes.
Neither Jerome Robinson, Pat Spencer, nor Ty Jerome, are likely to make the Warriors’ roster, but they all got extended run tonight and looked quite comfortable executing Steve Kerr’s offense. Robinson struggled to make shots early, but in the fourth quarter, he and the other fringe Warriors settled into a nice pace making quick reads and decisive drive-and-kicks. Jerome made several nice, borderline swaggering passes, while Spencer had a highlight dunk that provoked a reaction from Steph Curry, Bob Fitzgerald, and Kelenna Azubuike in the announcers’ booth.
Rotation watch:
1st Q:
12:00 — DDV/Moody/Kuminga/J. Green/Wiseman: 0-0, tie game.
5:12 — DDV/Moody/Lamb/Kuminga/J. Green: 18-19, Trail Blazers lead.
4:27 — DDV/Weatherspoon/Moody/Lamb/J. Green: 23-21, Warriors lead.
3:26 — Rollins/Weatherspoon/Moody/Lamb/PBJ: 26-24, Warriors lead.
2:45 — Rollins/Weatherspoon/Spencer/Lamb/PBJ: 26-27, Trail Blazers lead.
The Warriors opened up the game with a quick 7 points, all of which involved James Wiseman. You can see those points below:
Take note of Donte DiVincenzo’s passing in the clip above. With Steph Curry and Jordan Poole sitting, DiVincenzo got a chance to operate as the Warriors’ primary ball-handler and his first-quarter performance was encouraging. DiVincenzo doesn’t have a threatening outside shot that pulls defenders toward him ala Curry or Poole, but he’s a capable pick-and-roll passer out of pick and rolls and he also threw this excellent mid-air pass to Moses Moody in the corner:
Steve Kerr’s first sub of the night was Anthony Lamb, who seems to have impressed the Warriors’ coaching staff, or perhaps, is getting thrust into minutes in order to get quickly evaluated. The Warriors’ next sub was second-round pick, Ryan Rollins, who did not play at all in the previous preseason game. Rollins was active defensively with two deflections that nearly turned into steals and he finally demonstrated some of the shot-making and offensive creativity that made him a fearsome scorer in college. This play was especially nice:
2nd Q:
12:00 — Rollins/Weatherspoon/Spencer/Lamb/PBJ: 35-34, Warriors lead.
10:15 — Rollins/Weatherspoon/Spencer/Lamb/Kuminga: 40-36, Warriors lead.
7:37 — Rollins/Spencer/Lamb/Kuminga/Wiseman: 49-39, Warriors lead.
7:31 — DiVincenzo/Spencer/Kuminga/J. Green/Wiseman: 49-39, Warriors lead.
5:58 — DiVincenzo/Moody/Kuminga/J. Green/Wiseman: 52-39, Warriors lead.
4:24 - DiVincenzo/Robinson/Moody/J. Green/Wiseman: 59-41, Warriors lead.
3:59 — DiVincenzo/Robinson/Moody/Kuminga/J. Green: 60-41, Warriors lead.
3:00 — DiVincenzo/Robinson/Moody/Lamb/Kuminga: 62-43, Warriors lead.
With the Warriors’ veterans sitting, more players on the fringe of the Warriors’ roster and rotation got significant minutes in the second quarter. Pat Spencer and Quinndary Weatherspoon both got extensive runs and demonstrated nice chemistry with Weatherspoon hitting the former lacrosse star with two nice passes. Patrick Baldwin Jr. also had a brief stint of minutes and looked comfortable moving his feet defending on the perimeter, but picked up three fouls in just a few minutes. This possession demonstrates both his strengths and limitations as a defender:
Later in the quarter, Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman shared the court again, but in slightly different lineups. For a few minutes, Pat Spencer joined them alongside Donte DiVincenzo and JaMychal Green and then Moses Moody checked back into the game. The Warriors went on a 7-2 run in those minutes, but things got a little weird after James Wiseman inadvertently elbowed Jusuf Nurkic in the face and got called for a technical foul, while a far bruising elbow from Nurkic to the face of Jonathan Kuminga went uncalled. The Warriors closed the half with a tiny frontcourt of Anthony Lamb and Jonathan Kuminga — it is a minor miracle that neither player came out of the game with injuries after defending Nurkic in the post — and former Los Angeles Clippers lottery pick, Jerome Robinson, joined them but did little with his minutes.
3rd Q:
12:00 — DDV/Moody/Kuminga/J. Green/Wiseman: 68-56, Warriors lead.
4:57 — Rollins/Weatherspoon/Moody/PBJ/Wiseman: 91-62, Warriors lead.
4:12 — Rollins/Weatherspoon/Spencer/Lamb/PBJ: 94-62, Warriors lead.
The opening minutes of the third quarter were the most interesting of the second half and the most satisfying. JaMychal Green hit another three — his second of the game (and preseason) and when he came out of the game, he was tied with Moses Moody for a team-high 20 points. Green’s final bucket?? of the night came on a dunk assisted by... James Wiseman! Check this possession out:
That is a pass that James Wiseman would not have looked to make during his rookie season. Wiseman is going to get a lot of easy buckets by virtue of his size so I don’t get caught up on his point totals — it’s his improving feel and fit within Steve Kerr’s system that is far more notable to me. With each passing game, Wiseman has looked more at ease using the post to create for others, rather than attempt to get into his bag.
That commendable patience and growth on the offensive end have not, up until this point in the preseason, applied to Jonathan Kuminga. The Kuminga/Wiseman PNR in the possession above is a play that doesn’t need to happen with any frequency, if at all, and Kuminga’s aggression on offense has, up until this point, been more aggravating than it has been useful. These back-to-back possessions occurred only a little bit before the Kuminga/Wiseman PNR above:
Kuminga and Wiseman were both out of the game by the four-minute mark, at which point Steve Kerr turned over his bench for an extended run of garbage time. The Warriors had an insurmountable lead for most of the third quarter in a mostly meaningless game, but that didn’t stop the Warriors’ deep bench players from competing hard on every possession, including this impressive defensive sequence late in the third quarter:
4th Q:
12:00 — Jerome/Robinson/Quiñones/Spencer/PBJ: 103-71, Warriors lead.
3:08 — Jerome/Rollins/Weatherspoon/Quiñones/PBJ: 121-92, Warriors lead.
The most notable player of the fourth quarter, in my estimation, was the Warriors’ two-way contract player, Lester Quiñones. I’ve been skeptical of Quiñones’ ability for quite some time — he wasn’t a touted prospect and several people in the know, including The Athletic's John Hollinger, have mused that his friendship with James Wiseman played a role in his acquisition.
Earlier in the preseason, the NBA streamed part of a Warriors’ practice in Japan and as I watched on my phone, I noticed Quiñones goofing off during stretches and dancing around while his other teammates followed along with a coach’s instructions. I found this quite off-putting. I imagined myself in Quiñones’ shoes — if I was aware of any whispers intimating that my place in the NBA was tied to nepotism, I wouldn’t give anybody even the slightest of reasons to doubt me, especially after an aggressively mediocre summer league.
But tonight, Quiñones showed layers to his game that hadn’t revealed themselves earlier in the preseason, most notably an ability to make clever passes off of the dribble:
Here’s another impressive play by Lester, this time on the defensive end:
The Warriors spent the fourth quarter thoroughly outplaying the Trail Blazers’ C-Squad. Garbage time caveats notwithstanding, I was impressed by how crisp the Warriors’ only C-Squad looked on offense — the ball flew around the court and every Warrior on the court made quick decisions with the ball, staying true to the Warriors' 0.5 mentality on offense. Notably absent from the hilariously beautiful garbage time minutes was Jonathan Kuminga — I kept trying to picture what Kuminga would be doing if he’d been on the court in these minutes and my mind kept going to ISO’s and overdribbling. Hopefully, the Warriors’ joyous play in these meaningless minutes served as something of an example for Kuminga about the importance of executing the team’s offense and not getting too obsessed with testing his abilities.