12-28-2022, 03:35 PM
Had very good seats at the Warriors game last night. They barely beat a thoroughly outclassed Charlotte team. At one point, they were ahead by 17, and they should have won by 30. Their shooting went ice cold. They got sloppy and lackadaisacal and Charlotte took advantage of it.
Came to some conclusions on their 2020 and 2021 first round draft picks:
1) James Wiseman. The NBA game is way too fast for him right now. He does well in certain ways, but fails in most obvious basic ways. He's out of position far more often than not. He's slow to everything; slow to block out, slow to defend, slow to switch on defense, slow to set screens, and when he does those activities, he's far weaker than typical NBA players. His screens are twice as far away as they should be, he takes the wrong angle and he's slow to penetrate. He looks like exactly what he is: a tremendous, borderline amazing athlete who's seven feet tall, and at least three and probably more like five years away from reaching his potential, thanks to his lack of competitive basketball over the past three years. At the same time, his defense is improving, which is a good sign.
2. Moses Moody. Exactly as advertised. High floor, low ceiling. Competent and capable, starter on a not-so-good NBA team, decent backup on a very good NBA team. Not quite as athletic, not quite as strong, not quite as quick as the other young players, but definitely a better basketball player. Needs to put on weight and strength. IMHO, would benefit tremendously from G league experience, or anywhere he could play 30 minutes a night.
3. Jonathan Kuminga. He's a find. It's starting to click. He's starting to understand what he can do and what he can't do, and he's refraining from the weaker parts of his game. He's learning how to play with others, figuring out the system and just as importantly, figuring out what he can add to the system that the Warriors don't have. Fun and very exciting to watch. He's ramping it up like crazy.
If Kuminga and Poole learn defense the way that Draymond Green and Klay Thompson did, then this Warriors team won't miss a beat.
Came to some conclusions on their 2020 and 2021 first round draft picks:
1) James Wiseman. The NBA game is way too fast for him right now. He does well in certain ways, but fails in most obvious basic ways. He's out of position far more often than not. He's slow to everything; slow to block out, slow to defend, slow to switch on defense, slow to set screens, and when he does those activities, he's far weaker than typical NBA players. His screens are twice as far away as they should be, he takes the wrong angle and he's slow to penetrate. He looks like exactly what he is: a tremendous, borderline amazing athlete who's seven feet tall, and at least three and probably more like five years away from reaching his potential, thanks to his lack of competitive basketball over the past three years. At the same time, his defense is improving, which is a good sign.
2. Moses Moody. Exactly as advertised. High floor, low ceiling. Competent and capable, starter on a not-so-good NBA team, decent backup on a very good NBA team. Not quite as athletic, not quite as strong, not quite as quick as the other young players, but definitely a better basketball player. Needs to put on weight and strength. IMHO, would benefit tremendously from G league experience, or anywhere he could play 30 minutes a night.
3. Jonathan Kuminga. He's a find. It's starting to click. He's starting to understand what he can do and what he can't do, and he's refraining from the weaker parts of his game. He's learning how to play with others, figuring out the system and just as importantly, figuring out what he can add to the system that the Warriors don't have. Fun and very exciting to watch. He's ramping it up like crazy.
If Kuminga and Poole learn defense the way that Draymond Green and Klay Thompson did, then this Warriors team won't miss a beat.
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