Brandin Podziemski dominates in Warriors’ loss to Lakers – NBC Sports Bay Area and California
Dating back to last season, the Warriors entered Sunday night having won eight straight preseason games. The streak ended with a 126-116 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.
The Warriors were without several key contributors, including Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Al Horford and Moses Moody. Seth Curry missed his third straight preseason game after arriving late to training camp, and De’Anthony Melton (knee) and Alex Toohey (ankle) continue to be out with injuries.
Vying for a starting position in the backcourt, Brandin Podziemski took advantage of being a focal point of the Warriors’ offense. Podziemski scored nine points in the first half and then caught fire in the third, scoring 14. The Warriors then trailed by only five points in the fourth quarter due to Podziemski’s efforts.
Podziemski’s evening is over, leaving the comeback attempt to the rest of his teammates. But Sunday night in Los Angeles was Podziemski’s, showing how he can be a reliable scorer and playmaker, especially when the Warriors aren’t at full strength. Podziemski scored 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting in 26 minutes and also had five rebounds and eight assists. It was a plus-6.
Here are three highlights from the Warriors’ first preseason loss.
Starters outnumbered
Between the top two players, the addition of Horford and Moody to the Warriors’ list of absences required an interesting starting five. Coach Steve Kerr started with Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Quinten Post. Moody will be out for the remainder of the preseason and will be re-evaluated in a week with what the Warriors are calling a calf strain.
“We’re not too worried about it. We’re just being careful,” Kerr told reporters in Los Angeles.
The age of the Warriors’ best players already ensures that Kerr will have to get comfortable with multiple combinations and constantly tinker with who his starters will be. This was the perfect opportunity for several young warriors and role players to step up. The score was tied at 13-13 when Kerr made his first substitution, bringing on Gary Payton II in place of Post.
Golden State’s five starters started the second half together and came out strong trying to cut into a 17-point deficit. The Lakers’ lead was cut to 10 points with the Warriors outscoring the Lakers 21-14 in the first five and a half minutes of the third quarter when Kerr brought on Payton for Post.
The ups and downs of Kuminga
The offense will have to run through Kuminga on nights when Curry and Butler are out. There have been times when he has shown he can step up to the plate with more responsibility, and others where consistency continues to be an issue.
Kuminga twice took advantage of Dalton Knecht’s pass to the post in the first quarter. He also had three assists in the first quarter. Then, in the second, Kuminga went from crossing his ankles on defense to throwing down an explosive dunk that only he can deliver with his left hand with ease and authority.
Kuminga scored nine points in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting and dished out four assists. His fourth was a dime to Pat Spencer who cut into the paint for a layup. But Kuminga also didn’t have a rebound at halftime, led the Warriors with five turnovers and was a game-low -18.
There were ups and downs in Kuminga’s third preseason game. Kuminga played 22 minutes and scored a team-high 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He dominated around the basket, but missed his only 2-point shot outside the paint and poorly forced one of his three 3-point attempts.
Overall the process was positive. Kuminga keeps his eyes up and has mostly been in the flow of the attack. He finished with no rebounds, six assists and five turnovers with a minus-10.
Create space
Between the offseason additions and the development of some players, Kerr is excited about the space these Warriors can create. Now he can have an attack that plays four or even five. When it’s at full capacity, of course.
The end of the first quarter saw a unit of Pat Spencer, Will Richard, Payton, Gui Santos and Trayce Jackson-Davis struggle to score with very little space. None of these five are considered long-range shooting threats. The start of the second quarter was also tiring.
That group included Podziemski, Hield, Kuminga, Santos and Jackson-Davis. These five give Kerr a surefire 3-point threat in Hield and a promising second in Podziemski. The Warriors as a team shot 19 percent from three in the first half, going 4 of 21. Payton was the only player on the bench to hit a 3-pointer, and no Warrior made more than three.
They also didn’t attempt a single free throw in the first half, while the Lakers went 13 of 15 at the foul line.
After making just four 3-pointers in the first half, the Warriors made three in the first two and a half minutes of the third quarter – two by Post and one by Podziemski – and five in the entire quarter. The Warriors made two more 3-pointers than the Lakers, 14 to 12, but shot a modest 32.6%, much lower than Los Angeles’ 44.4%. Podziemski, Post and LJ Cryer were the only Warriors to make more than one 3-pointer.
Richard (1 of 6), Santos (1 of 5) and Spencer (1 of 5) combined to go 3 of 17 from three.
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