Oct 6, 2021Liked by Gabe Johnson, Poor Man's Commish
I am immediately struck by how easy it is for rookies to score do things in Summer League that makes them look better than they really are. I don't think either one will be able to play their game in the NBA unless they get consistent minutes off the bench and I don't think there is a good chance of that happening apart from injuries to our main weapons. Kuminga thrives with the ball in his hands and likes to improvise in the moment. NBA defenses are usually not going to let you in and Kuminga is not that good of a shooter to settle for 3's. This is the same thing for Moody. Other than shooting spot up 3s, his drives to the basket will be challenged and there are a lot more stronger players defending his position and it's going to take time and reps to adjust to the reality of this league.
I watched the Houston/Wizards game. Jalen Green is a starter and got a lot of time with his hands on the ball. It was not easy going for him and did not appear as a dominant stud except for his athleticism. OTOH, Keven Porter Jr was most impressive, doing just about everything including shooting 3s ala Curry and was everywhere on the court. There is a guy who is going to rise. Sengun, the 3rd center on the team had the most rebounds and was on the floor in crunch time. You can see how good he is going to be already but when you have Theis and Wood in front of you, how much time can you expect to get. Unless Kerr has a plan for our rooks, it's going to be a slog for both of them to rise off the bench apart from blowouts.
yeah I wouldn't expect either Moody or Kuminga to be a factor year 1. Kerr made it pretty clear with his rotations vs. POR that he's not gifting them minutes like they did with Wiseman last year. however, I think all you can look for with guys like Moody & Kuminga is flashes of what they might turn into when they have some time to learn the NBA game (per your example, Kevin Porter Jr is in year 3). both Warriors kids have flashed some interesting skills that could make them a big part of a Warriors team in a couple of years. for now, whatever they can do in some limited minutes is icing on a cake.
Yeah, Summer League competition is really not that high, plus there’s very little team defense. In a lot of ways, SL is a mess competitively, but it’s certainly better than nothing and has become a staple in player development (cue tears for James Wiseman’s string of bad luck).
Oct 6, 2021Liked by Gabe Johnson, Poor Man's Commish
Post-preseason game, I actually disagree about Kuminga not playing a role. I was actually pretty shocked at how smoothly he fit into what the Dubs do. He rarely held the ball for longer than a few seconds, kept it hopping, made mostly the right reads. He competed on defense. I think that's the baseline of what Kerr wants for rotation minutes, and I think Kuminga showed that he's already beyond Oubre's ability to understand the way we play. Kuminga made at least two passes in that game that Oubre never could. My prediction is he plays very little through the first half, but eventually earns 10 minutes a night. Remember, we won a title with Patrick McCaw playing key minutes in the postseason, and Kuminga looked at least as competent Monday, and he's only 19 today! Interestingly, Moody, the more ready made player feels like a longer term project at this point, not because he isn't skilled and helpful, but Kuminga just forces you to figure out how to get him in the lineup in a way Moody doesn't. Moody by year 2 is likely going to play a key role, but Kuminga has an NBA thing he can do right now that I think Kerr will want in the lineup if he can keep from hurting the team.
I just talked to Brandon Payne yesterday, catching up on things (article for subscribers coming soon), and really the issue is development in that by Game 82 they’ll be ready to contribute although playoffs is another animal. Now as far as getting until then, maybe every third game or so, work one of them into the rotation for the sake of reps. I also have an article coming soon (it will also be behind the paywall) of pregame workouts where they do a 4-on-4 read-and-react drill. It was really cool to see. So, we’ll see but the fact remains: the Warriors have a roster that doesn’t have many holes and can maybe withstand the inevitable injury or two (knock on wood).
I am immediately struck by how easy it is for rookies to score do things in Summer League that makes them look better than they really are. I don't think either one will be able to play their game in the NBA unless they get consistent minutes off the bench and I don't think there is a good chance of that happening apart from injuries to our main weapons. Kuminga thrives with the ball in his hands and likes to improvise in the moment. NBA defenses are usually not going to let you in and Kuminga is not that good of a shooter to settle for 3's. This is the same thing for Moody. Other than shooting spot up 3s, his drives to the basket will be challenged and there are a lot more stronger players defending his position and it's going to take time and reps to adjust to the reality of this league.
I watched the Houston/Wizards game. Jalen Green is a starter and got a lot of time with his hands on the ball. It was not easy going for him and did not appear as a dominant stud except for his athleticism. OTOH, Keven Porter Jr was most impressive, doing just about everything including shooting 3s ala Curry and was everywhere on the court. There is a guy who is going to rise. Sengun, the 3rd center on the team had the most rebounds and was on the floor in crunch time. You can see how good he is going to be already but when you have Theis and Wood in front of you, how much time can you expect to get. Unless Kerr has a plan for our rooks, it's going to be a slog for both of them to rise off the bench apart from blowouts.
yeah I wouldn't expect either Moody or Kuminga to be a factor year 1. Kerr made it pretty clear with his rotations vs. POR that he's not gifting them minutes like they did with Wiseman last year. however, I think all you can look for with guys like Moody & Kuminga is flashes of what they might turn into when they have some time to learn the NBA game (per your example, Kevin Porter Jr is in year 3). both Warriors kids have flashed some interesting skills that could make them a big part of a Warriors team in a couple of years. for now, whatever they can do in some limited minutes is icing on a cake.
Yeah, Summer League competition is really not that high, plus there’s very little team defense. In a lot of ways, SL is a mess competitively, but it’s certainly better than nothing and has become a staple in player development (cue tears for James Wiseman’s string of bad luck).
Post-preseason game, I actually disagree about Kuminga not playing a role. I was actually pretty shocked at how smoothly he fit into what the Dubs do. He rarely held the ball for longer than a few seconds, kept it hopping, made mostly the right reads. He competed on defense. I think that's the baseline of what Kerr wants for rotation minutes, and I think Kuminga showed that he's already beyond Oubre's ability to understand the way we play. Kuminga made at least two passes in that game that Oubre never could. My prediction is he plays very little through the first half, but eventually earns 10 minutes a night. Remember, we won a title with Patrick McCaw playing key minutes in the postseason, and Kuminga looked at least as competent Monday, and he's only 19 today! Interestingly, Moody, the more ready made player feels like a longer term project at this point, not because he isn't skilled and helpful, but Kuminga just forces you to figure out how to get him in the lineup in a way Moody doesn't. Moody by year 2 is likely going to play a key role, but Kuminga has an NBA thing he can do right now that I think Kerr will want in the lineup if he can keep from hurting the team.
I just talked to Brandon Payne yesterday, catching up on things (article for subscribers coming soon), and really the issue is development in that by Game 82 they’ll be ready to contribute although playoffs is another animal. Now as far as getting until then, maybe every third game or so, work one of them into the rotation for the sake of reps. I also have an article coming soon (it will also be behind the paywall) of pregame workouts where they do a 4-on-4 read-and-react drill. It was really cool to see. So, we’ll see but the fact remains: the Warriors have a roster that doesn’t have many holes and can maybe withstand the inevitable injury or two (knock on wood).