Brandin Podziemski on learning to balance shooting and creating for others

Game 2 against the dreadful Hornets

• Box Score

After Game 1, Dalton Johnson wrote:

Podziemski said. “First couple of quarters I was kind of just feeling it out and seeing what my teammates were doing. And then in the fourth quarter I just started playing aggressive, and the more aggressive you are, the more things open up for your teammates.” 

…

“I can teach him a few things as far as just being more poised and kind of just letting it come to him,” Quinones explained. “I feel like either tonight or tomorrow I'm gonna sit with him and talk to him about kind of just not letting people just take you out of your offense or kind of pressure you at halfcourt, to kind of just be more poised and really just controlling it – being a controlled PG to get us into our offense. 

“I feel like once he gets that down, he's gonna be really solid. He has a great, high IQ. He makes the right plays. He's not selfish, he's a hooper. I'm excited for how he's gonna blossom.”

• The coaching staff said they would put Podz in more positions to score in Game 2.

• In Game 2, Podz came out firing, going from 12 points on 9 shots in 30 minutes with (-6) in Game 1 to 17 points on 14 shots in 26 min with +23 +/-. He also went from 6 AST, 6 REB down to 1 AST, 4 REB. He’s still feeling out that balance.

After the game, he was asked about his shooting and he replied:

Yeah, I will say some hesitant moments for sure. Just seeing if me shooting the ball is the best shot our team can get. You know, I like to get the best shot possible for our team. And sometimes that is the case and I don't realize it till a little bit late. So just continue to work on that with our player development staff, on the gym on the off days in Vegas. That will be something that that I think will help me for sure.

A lot of the stuff we do at Santa Clara is predicated based on the Warriors. So all the terminology, all that kind of stuff is something I've already learned at Santa Clara. So it's been easy for me to pick it up. But just the level that these players play at and how much better they are than college players. It's cool for me to see, especially playing with them.

• He had a few nice passes, was disruptive on the boards and in the passing lanes, but also continues to wildly overhelp and gamble.

• There was one nice pass from him to a cutter at the basket which was fumbled out of bounds #2something I think. [This note was written live at the game.] Running back Pod looked visibly exasperated and didn’t do the usual reconnection “that’s ok”. But yes much less carpy than Game 1.

Monte Poole also noticed the play and wrote:

His visible irritation when a slick pass to Gabe Kalscheur led to a blown layup is something that won’t endear to rook to veterans. He’ll learn that he’ll be better off if he leaves his demonstrative traffic directing in Sacramento.