First Game Review

Last thing first: When there is a team with so many new members, gaining confidence is an important part of winning, and winning gives a team more confidence. While pre-season games are glorified practices, how you practice is how you play.For that reason, this game set the tone.

Shooting was off, but one game is of no concern. For example, Poz stood out as a player in last year’s summer league, even though his shots did not fall. He took the right shots and they looked good, though they did not fall. That happens. Even the greatest shooter in the game has off shooting nights. Much was caused by bad spacing, which will improve once the team jells.

speaking of Poz, his defense, particularly his team defense, continues to impress. He made a number of ‘help’ plays that prevented layups and denied a passing lane to the man he was guarding. Plays like that separate those who know how to play from those beautiful athletes like James Wiseman.

Draymond showed the skills that make him an elite player. He is a cut above the rest.

Looney also impressed; his weight loss made him a quicker player, and already he is much improved over last year. He has not hit his ceiling on offense, and we remember his high 3 point shooting percentage in college, albeit on a small sample size. On a different team, or with a coach having more confidence in his shooting than his past NBA record would advise, he’d have a breakout offensive year. He still may accomplish that here if he takes it upon himself to shoot more. I think he should.

Moody dazzled on offense and defense. He is the best two way 2 guard on the Warriors’ roster, and he should be the starting 2 for the Warriors.

The new guys also were impressive in their areas of expertise. Melton is a dog, and his defense is stellar. His historical shooting percentage from 2 is low and he is not the kind of scoring threat as some, but his game is impressive.

Buddy Heid’s shot looks phenomenal and he gets it off fast. He is not the defensive player Melton is, but he is a perfect off the bench shooter.

Kyle Anderson had some difficulty guarding on the perimeter, but his interior defense is very good. Some adjustments to the team defense would alleviate that issue. On offense, Anderson is not an individual star but he makes the offense flow, which is both harder to do and more important to the team’s success. A point 4 off the bench appears to be his best position on this team.

Q Post had a pretty good game. With the exception of setting screens (he should sit down with Looney to learn that skill) he played well and used his 7’1" frame to clog the interior. His shot didn’t go down, but they generally looked good. I hope he continues to take them with confidence because he is a good shooter.

TJD had a bad game as he was torched on defense and repeatedly was out of position. The absence of help on defense made him look worse but he needs some improvement in that part of his game.

Jackson Rowe had a very good game and looks like a solid player. I think he’d make the roster of a few teams, but it will be hard for him to make this one.

Spencer, well, his T-shirt under his uniform is a mistake, as it accentuates his short arms. I like his moxie but His lack of length and lack of exceptional athleticism hurts his chances.

Kuminga is one of my favorite players, but despite his good +-, I don’t think he had a great game. There wasn’t enough space on offense to let his game shine, and he looked a bit lost in the first quarter on team defense. He picked it up later but he played as if he was a bit under the weather.

Waters shooting read evidence his last year’s shooting percentage is the real deal, and a team never has enough shooters. His athleticism is high and his defense, while not Melton-like (Or GPIII like?) was pretty good as well. He looks like a steal.

GPIII played like he always has. Maybe with Melton, GPIII can be given the Otto Porter treatment (skipping one of the back-to back games, etc) to keep him on the floor for the season. I miss Otto Porter, though.

I see the starters like this: Stef, Moody at the 2, Dray and Looney at the 4 and 5.

Backups are SLO Mo at the 4, Poz at the 1, Heid and Waters as shooting 2 guards off the bench and GPIII on D at 2 off the bench, and TJD back up at the 5. Who starts the 3, and where Kuminga, Wiggins and Melton fit in, and minutes, I have no clue. A trade is required to balance this team.

it will take a while to define roles, starting lineups, and from there, team defense, but this one game did help see the strengths and weaknesses of the players. It will take a masterful job to make this a good team, but they have the good players who have good team oriented attitudes, It’s a good start.