SAN FRANCISCO — Look no further than the final few seconds of the first half to witness the brand of basketball Steve Kerr wants to see the Warriors play this season.
Here’s a quick recap: Dribble, drive, pass, pass, bounce, bucket.
Stephen Curry turned his back and strutted across the logo at halfcourt with about 2 ticks left after draining a 3-pointer that puts the Dubs ahead heading into intermission of an eventual 118-116 preseason win against the Denver Nuggets.
“I loved the way we closed the second quarter,” Kerr said. “That was kind of the highlight of the game for me. … The ball really moved. I thought that was our best stretch of the game.”
Andrew Wiggins squared up P.J. Dozier and drove toward the basket. He kicked it to Otto Porter Jr. in the corner, who passed the ball along to Curry. He dribbled once and nailed the bucket that put Golden State up 1 at intermission.
Dozier was left flailing attempting to close ground on a wide-open Curry.
“Two defenders actually came to me thinking I was gonna make that shot,” Porter said. “I was, but they left Steph wide open. I was like, ‘Me? OK’ Bad idea, buddy.”
Stretching the floor
Porter isn’t going to pass up that corner 3 often, nor should he.
Through his first two preseason games, Porter has made eight of his 13 attempts from deep and hasn’t missed from the corner. He’s nailed all six of his attempts from either corner.
“That’s what I’m here for,” Porter said afterward. “I take pride in that. I work on it everyday. You’ve got to have that corner 3, especially on this team. … That corner shot’s gonna be there, so you’ve got to knock it down.”
Porter and Nemanja Bjelica give the Warriors size and shooting ability, a combination they’ve been lacking since the days of Mo Speights, Kerr said.
“This is what Otto and Belli can give us,” Kerr said. “That shooter at the 4 or the 5 who can give us that extra spacing that we haven’t necessarily had in the past. … We’ve always had great 3-point shooting at the top of our roster. I don’t think we’ve ever had the depth.”
The Warriors assisted on 27 baskets Wednesday night after dropping 32 dimes in their first preseason game.
They attempted 46 3-pointers and made 21 of them, after shooting 24-of-69 from distance at Portland.
As long as the shots are there, Kerr said the Warriors could take 80 3-pointers and he’d be OK with it.
Andre Iguodala, who didn’t play Wednesday in an attempt to limit his preseason workload, said he believes Porter and Bjelica are positioned to be better utilized in Golden State’s system than with their previous teams.
“We got some steals with those two guys,” Iguodala said before Wednesday’s game. “For some reason their strengths weren’t able to be shown to their full potential. I think you saw, even in the preseason, a lot of the opportunities they’ll have within the system, playing with Steph, playing with Draymond.”
On Wednesday, Golden State outscored Denver by 18 points when Porter was on the floor, the best rate of any Warriors player.
Getting flagrant
Draymond Green was the defender trying to close ground quickly early in the first quarter. It resulted in the rare preseason flagrant foul call.
As Austin Rivers began his shot from beyond the arc, Green leaped and let his right knee fly into Rivers’ midsection. The Nuggets’ guard hit the floor hard, and Green was served a Flagrant-I upon video review.
He appeared to offer an apology to Rivers at the free throw line.
Draymond Green gets called for a flagrant foul after he goes flying into Austin Rivers on a 3-pt attempt pic.twitter.com/nQfTYvgn9T
— Evan Webeck (@EvanWebeck) October 7, 2021
Rotational
Bjelica and Avery Bradley were the first Warriors off the bench for the second straight preseason game. The duo entered for Jordan Poole and Kevon Looney about midway through the first quarter.
“The reason he’s here is we know we have a need for a ball-hawking defensive guard,” Kerr said of Bradley. “We’re just trying to give him a long look to see what he can bring to our team.”
Juan Toscano-Anderson was next, about a minute later, after Wiggins picked up his second foul. Porter followed, replacing Green, then Poole subbed back in to spell Curry.
Poole led the Warriors in minutes and shared the court with a number of different rotational pairings.
Poole party
Kerr has said Poole has a green light, and through two preseason games, the 22-year-old guard is taking full advantage.
Poole has started both games and led the Warriors in scoring each time.
He followed up his 30-point performance with another 17 on Wednesday night.
“Nothing he’s doing is surprising us,” Kerr said. “He’s earned this, as I’ve said many times.”
After nailing seven 3-pointers Monday, Poole was more effective at getting to the basket Wednesday. Six of his 17 points came inside the paint and he got to the free throw line five times. He only made one of his six attempts from deep.
Porter was second on the Warriors with 15 points, paired with nine rebounds, in 18 minutes. Curry and Bjelica also finished in double figures with 14 and 13 apiece.
Welcome back
The Warriors welcomed fans back to Chase Center at full capacity for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, a span of 575 days. A total of 16,923 fans passed through turnstiles Wednesday night.
“I’m just really excited,” Kerr said before the game about the prospect of playing in front of a full house again. “I mean, even walking out on the floor in Portland the other night and seeing the stands full and feeling the energy was just a huge rush for all of us, so to feel that at home it’s gonna be awesome. We’re thrilled to welcome our fans back in the building. I’m just really excited for the year.”
Go to Source
Author: Evan Webeck