Got to see the game late and it certainly had some resonating moments that just won’t leave my head.
GP2 should play at least 2x3 minute stints each quarter. He’s such a game changer and if he played with a passer that could see the move on time he’d have had a few dunks on cuts too. Good things the Warriors have those.
Saric isn’t as good a reader of the game as Bjelica. But he gets the job done.
Robinson thank you for your service. Time to move on before infecting anyone else with that summer league mindset.
Kuminga + rebounder willing to hit him leaking out = good times rolling!
For a brief moment in time, Javonte Green was leading the NBA last season in deflections. He's a classic "Warrior flyer" type of player who can defend and has athleticism/length but struggles scoring the ball.
EDIT: Okay I'm reading he suffered a knee injury last season (against the Warriors, actually). That must be why he's not already on a roster. Fair enough, hopefully he can get back to his old self on Santa Cruz.
Yah - I bet he's competing for the 14th slot, not a G-league contract.
I'll be interested to see what he has inasmuch as Rudy has not impressed so far. he's been eeeh. honestly, it seems the biggest + he brings is his bench-coach talents for the young guys - and it's not something to be dismissed lightly.
OT, but did anyone else notice CRAZY-EYED ROS sitting a row or two back of courtside during the 4th Q of last night’s game? Her eyes are of course noticeably big and beautiful all the time, but it looked kinda like she had had her pupils dilated and/or was intently fixated on something going on on the floor.
> The Warriors have waived Donovan Williams, Javan Johnson and Kendric Davis, per sources. They are signing Javonte Green and Yuri Collins today. All five are expected to land in Santa Cruz to open the G-League season in the organizational pipeline.
anyone else annoyed with Kings running the same Warriors plays? low/high post split cuts and dribble hand-offs and actually works against the Warriors..and then the Warriors playing differently more 1-on-1 with Kuminga, Wiggins etc...i know its a copy-cat league..
A few Steph Curry facts from last year combined with a report about him that was shared during the game by the broadcast:
- He made a career best 55% of his 3-10 ft shots with those shots being a career-high 19% of his attempts. Steph's elite midrange game gets slept on because of his spectacular three point shooting, but exploiting the midrange is more important than ever.
- He made a career best 76% (!) of his attempts from 0-3 feet, albeit on relatively lower volume than is typical in his career.
- He shot a career-best (full season) 59.7% on corner threes
- Bruce Frasier (I think?) was quoted on the broadcast as saying he's never seen Steph shoot better in preseason than he did this year.
I'm crossing my fingers for Steph to make it through this year healthy. I have a feeling if he can do that, we're going to be well-positioned for another deep postseason run.
Which is what I have been saying all along; the Warriors have as good a chance as any team to win a championship as long as Steph Curry is healthy. When you can only put 5 players on the court, it helps a lot if one of them is the best player in the world. And it is not like the supporting cast is chopped liver. Preseason or not, it is encouraging that the bench players could more or less stick with the Kings starters.
I'm not reading a ton into last night (both teams played their reserves heavily), but I really liked that win, because it was such a *non-Warriors* win.
Only 18 assists.
The eye test backed up the fact that they weren't really able to run their motion offense.
Really, they didn't set many screens.
The defense was sad for about 1/2 the game (though Sac went pretty cold anyway).
Ineffective play from the point guards, by and large ... Robinson wasn't effective, Podz was off ... LQ made a few good plays, but was probably close to neutral with his passing/team game.
Normally, that's a recipe for a game where Steph either saves us, or we lose. But, 1. not many turnovers, 2. TJD was really good on defense to close the game, 3. Kuminga just went at whoever was guarding him, 4. Wiggs and Moody had nice shooting games.
It resembled some of the KD games, where nothing was working, and we just gave him the ball and let him go to work. Now we've got Kuminga to do that (differently).
It's weird when I read this blog and warriors reddit JK is seen as a future star and improving on many facets of his game so far this preseason, but on realgm nobody gives him props and think he's Maggette/won't work with our current team.
1. Maggette never passed, IIRC. The reason Kuminga is racking up turnovers is because he's trying to pass.
2. Kuminga plays defense.
3. Kuminga shoots the 3 ball better. Maggette had four years with decent percentages, but only once did he shoot more than 3 a game. Even in the limited minutes per game Kuminga has played in his career, he's averaging peak Maggette attempts per game, and shooting league average (far better than Maggette).
4. Kuminga just plays a better team game, including screening.
But, even if someone feels these are not that important, by the end of next season, Kuminga's ability/efficiency are going to make the comparison moot, I think.
I mean he took 18 shots, 17 free throws, had 1 assist, and 5 turnovers. The box score looks extremely Maggette-ish (didn't see the game so can't comment on if it looked that way on the eye test).
Just finished watching the replay. Exhausted. Long night, but I wanted to see the game.
Quick hit thoughts:
(1) Wiggs looked like 2022 playoff Wiggs out there. He and GP2 were the two main reasons why the Dubs won this game with Steph, Dray, and CP2 out.
(2) Jerome Robinson was horrid on defense, IMO. Got burned over and over. He made a couple decent plays on offense tho, and his playing time seems to hint that he has the inside track to keep the 3rd two-way slot. Color me unimpressed. I'll be sad if he nabs it. Should be going to someone with more promise and upside, IMO.
(3) Today I saw why LQ deserves a two-way. Played good defense, and had smart plays on offense with few errors. Sure, he's not a great creator, not flashy - but he's serviceable. Better than JR, at least.
(4) Didn't really get to see enough of DUG, but that jumper near the nail was nice.
(5) TJD looked pretty sharp out there. He gave me lots of reason to think that he'll get those 4th big rotation minutes this year.
(6) Speaking of bigs, Saric and Looney on a court together! It's great that we can play 2-big lineups with Saric, and not worry about opponents flooding the paint. Stretch 4 ftw.
(7) JK another 5 TO game. Man, he needs to work on reigning those in. But 13 of 17 on FTA? Amazing. If he can consistently do that in reg. season, that would be amazing, but I'm worried it's a "level of competition" illusion. He also got 6 boards, and it felt like 10, tbh. Against the Kings' starters, tho, JK was merely adequate. He didn't seem to be a liability in the starting lineup, but also didn't seem to be the "sparkplug" that he usually is.
(8) Pleasantly surprised by MM's showing. His defense was strong, and his 3-shot was accurate. His drives were... ehh. He needs to work on his handle and rim finishing.
(9) BP was impressive for a rookie. But, a rookie shouldn't be starting vs the Kings. He def. had trouble vs Fox, but also held his own a few times which impressed me. He shined more when he was playing against 2nd stringers, similar to JK, but even more so. Regular season rotation minutes I can see - not so sure about playoff rotation.
(10) GP2. How can I sing thy praises. His statline only shows 3 stocks, but it felt like he got 5-7.
(11) DUG and the DWill barely got any minutes at all. Hard to draw many conclusions from the few they did get.
(12) it felt like the second unit basically played 4-out ISO ball, where was the motion offense?
(13)I could not stand the Kings announcer - crazy homer. I'm so glad RJeff called him out on it. And I loved RJeff out there. He has such amazing insights.
Good summary. It's encouraging that Moody is getting to the rim on occasion but he does indeed need to work on finishing but based on last nights game you could say the same thing about all the young guys except JK.
RE BP and playoff rotation minutes, it's too soon to judge that. He's a rook in the preseason. He could come a long way between now and the playoffs. Or not.
In terms of the players available, the Dubs lineups tonight felt more "preseason" than the last couple… but in terms of tension/excitement and the players' desire to win, this one felt a bit like a regular season game. Respect to the Golden1 Center fans continuing to bring the energy—without resorting to gross stuff like some Utah or Boston attendees in the past.
Kuminga looks a *lot* more poised than this time last season. Like, yeah, he could always levitate to the rim, but he's gotten so much better about choosing the right times to go for it—earninga basket, a foul, or both pretty consistently (instead of risking turnovers). He had only one bad, "d'oh!"-type pass this game, which I'm happy to spot him—if only certain other all-time greats on the current team could be convinced to limit their stupid turnovers to 1 per game.
One of the things about Podz I'm loving is his looking to pass ahead for a fast-break every time he gets the chance. We definitely need someone to do that when Steph & Draymond aren't able to. We got some nice points off of it this game, looking forward to that being a highlight. It's great synergy with Kuminga, TJD, and others on the team too.
Klay took a very "Klay-esque" selection of shots tonight... Luckily, he made almost all the hardest ones, which I sometimes think is more valuable than just the points because of the mental damage. The disrespect inherent in those shots is like talking trash without speaking a word.
I think I want Moody to play just a little bit more aggressively, but he did some good work late in the game. Quiñones also looked like he got into a groove as the game went on and started contributing meaningfully towards the end, although still pretty borderline. Jerome Robinson didn't look like he brought a whole lot, but he didn't make any embarrassing mistakes and he was in the right place at the right time occasionally, so that's not nothing.
Not much of note re:Šarić, Garuba, or the other guys. I mean, GP2 only got credit for 2 steals and 1 block but I was pretty sure he singlehandedly forced at least 2 more turnovers and maybe more. Oh, did you realize Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points in 22 minutes of game time? Me neither
Kuminga has arrived, finally. It's not a shiny, polished product, and might not ever be one. Never mind, just let him do his thing and have the players around him adapt to him being there. They'll get it sooner or later. He needs his freedom.
Viewing the game, I felt it was a throwaway game in the sense of Kerr testing out some possible rotations and getting a feel for the players he has. This is something that I think is necessary for the Dubs and unfortunate at the same time. Many of the players are not going to get playing time with the team and it's the fans that have to suffer through games that don't make sense. This was sort of an audition for the gleague.
Podz, after his double/double the game before, looked like he forgot how to shoot. This was troubling and the spotlight will be on him to prove this was just a bad game for him. OTOH, TJD looks like he is in control almost all of the time. He doesn't exhibit much atleticism but BBIQ is very high and allows him to be effective on the floor. I don't think Kerr knows how to work him into the rotation or what he brings, yet. Same with Usman. They are not rim protectors. We have no real big men except Looney who is not a high scorer. Saric is the real stretch 5 they have been looking for.
Moody and Quinones are shooters primarily but Lester can handle the ball. Robinson, who has a massive motor and a dog mentality can't seem to find the basket along with Podz.
I think we are going to be deficient on D this season. We look small and slow and we'll have to rely on our shooters to keep us in games. Not much playmaking and ball movement in this game with our 4 primary ballhandlers not playing, Steph, Paul, Dray, Cojo. I feel for some of the players on the edge because they will not really get the opportunity to show themselves and will wind up in our gleague or let go.
Hopefully not "deficient" overall, but without a true rim protector currently on the roster, I fear that fouling will plague us once again this season.
I refuse to accept that a team with Draymond Green, Gary Payton, Kevon Looney, Andrew Wiggins, Steph Curry, Kuminga and Moody, among others, will be deficient on D this year.
I mean sure, Kerr could throw lineups out there that would not be defensively strong, but overall I think there’s plenty of defensive ability out there…and no one who doesn’t give effort (ahem, Poole).
Fresh new thread here: https://open.substack.com/pub/dubnation/p/warriors-sign-javonte-green-and-yuri?r=3lm3s&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Got to see the game late and it certainly had some resonating moments that just won’t leave my head.
GP2 should play at least 2x3 minute stints each quarter. He’s such a game changer and if he played with a passer that could see the move on time he’d have had a few dunks on cuts too. Good things the Warriors have those.
Saric isn’t as good a reader of the game as Bjelica. But he gets the job done.
Robinson thank you for your service. Time to move on before infecting anyone else with that summer league mindset.
Kuminga + rebounder willing to hit him leaking out = good times rolling!
> Saric isn’t as good a reader of the game as Bjelica. But he gets the job done.
Not as good of a shooter either.
He’s a better shooter.
https://www.nbcsportschicago.com/nba/chicago-bulls/how-caruso-green-are-forming-potent-deflections-duo/337433/
For a brief moment in time, Javonte Green was leading the NBA last season in deflections. He's a classic "Warrior flyer" type of player who can defend and has athleticism/length but struggles scoring the ball.
EDIT: Okay I'm reading he suffered a knee injury last season (against the Warriors, actually). That must be why he's not already on a roster. Fair enough, hopefully he can get back to his old self on Santa Cruz.
Yah - I bet he's competing for the 14th slot, not a G-league contract.
I'll be interested to see what he has inasmuch as Rudy has not impressed so far. he's been eeeh. honestly, it seems the biggest + he brings is his bench-coach talents for the young guys - and it's not something to be dismissed lightly.
OT, but did anyone else notice CRAZY-EYED ROS sitting a row or two back of courtside during the 4th Q of last night’s game? Her eyes are of course noticeably big and beautiful all the time, but it looked kinda like she had had her pupils dilated and/or was intently fixated on something going on on the floor.
Yes! And Podz taking 10 seconds to cross half court with no call.
I called that out in the game thread, it was so blatant lol
I did! She seemed really shocked/disturbed about something... it was weird.
Hmm... Klay marriage proposal?
> The Warriors have waived Donovan Williams, Javan Johnson and Kendric Davis, per sources. They are signing Javonte Green and Yuri Collins today. All five are expected to land in Santa Cruz to open the G-League season in the organizational pipeline.
https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1713959548204269864
Ctrl^F Jerome Robinson...
Sigh.
Well- there goes the competition for the last two way. I guess it’s not between Robison and Yuri?
And that means Gay is pretty much guaranteed #14? I kinda wish we had more competition for that spot.
I'm confused by this. Javonte Green is actually good, he should be competing for the 14th spot.
EDIT: "Good" in a "back end of the roster" sense, to be clear.
Green is 30 years old, can even play on a 2-way?
I don't think age matters but Green already has 4 years of service in the NBA so I don't think he's eligible.
I knew 4 years was the reference point... didn't remember if it was "more than" or "less than"... thanks
anyone else annoyed with Kings running the same Warriors plays? low/high post split cuts and dribble hand-offs and actually works against the Warriors..and then the Warriors playing differently more 1-on-1 with Kuminga, Wiggins etc...i know its a copy-cat league..
I give them a pass because Mike Brown had a hand in refining that offense
Something I noticed about Kuminga's FT's is that he seemed to emphasize adding an arc which was lacking in his previous years.
If only he could teach young Wiggins about this adjustment…
Wiggins responds with *fadeaway turnaround middy*
A few Steph Curry facts from last year combined with a report about him that was shared during the game by the broadcast:
- He made a career best 55% of his 3-10 ft shots with those shots being a career-high 19% of his attempts. Steph's elite midrange game gets slept on because of his spectacular three point shooting, but exploiting the midrange is more important than ever.
- He made a career best 76% (!) of his attempts from 0-3 feet, albeit on relatively lower volume than is typical in his career.
- He shot a career-best (full season) 59.7% on corner threes
- Bruce Frasier (I think?) was quoted on the broadcast as saying he's never seen Steph shoot better in preseason than he did this year.
I'm crossing my fingers for Steph to make it through this year healthy. I have a feeling if he can do that, we're going to be well-positioned for another deep postseason run.
(Stats courtesy of BasketballReference.com)
Which is what I have been saying all along; the Warriors have as good a chance as any team to win a championship as long as Steph Curry is healthy. When you can only put 5 players on the court, it helps a lot if one of them is the best player in the world. And it is not like the supporting cast is chopped liver. Preseason or not, it is encouraging that the bench players could more or less stick with the Kings starters.
So, basically, Steph shoots like a center when he's within 3 feet, like Chris Paul in the midrange, and like no one else, ever, from 3.
He's pretty good from 152 yards too. ( https://twitter.com/NBCSports/status/1680289396019347456?s=20 )
Y'all said I was crazy buffoon when I claimed Kuminga reminded me of Cory Maggette . . . well whose laughing now!!!!
I don’t recall it, but sorry for calling you a crazy buffoon. You’re not crazy.
more of a buffy crazoon
I'm not reading a ton into last night (both teams played their reserves heavily), but I really liked that win, because it was such a *non-Warriors* win.
Only 18 assists.
The eye test backed up the fact that they weren't really able to run their motion offense.
Really, they didn't set many screens.
The defense was sad for about 1/2 the game (though Sac went pretty cold anyway).
Ineffective play from the point guards, by and large ... Robinson wasn't effective, Podz was off ... LQ made a few good plays, but was probably close to neutral with his passing/team game.
Normally, that's a recipe for a game where Steph either saves us, or we lose. But, 1. not many turnovers, 2. TJD was really good on defense to close the game, 3. Kuminga just went at whoever was guarding him, 4. Wiggs and Moody had nice shooting games.
Good team win.
TJD played really good defense throughout the game, but he continues to look utterly lost on offense without being able to utilize his post game.
And winning with a different style is exactly what this team needs ti add to its arsenal. We sorely missed that against the lakers in the playoffs.
yes, exactly ... meant to say that, but didn't!
It resembled some of the KD games, where nothing was working, and we just gave him the ball and let him go to work. Now we've got Kuminga to do that (differently).
It's weird when I read this blog and warriors reddit JK is seen as a future star and improving on many facets of his game so far this preseason, but on realgm nobody gives him props and think he's Maggette/won't work with our current team.
I get the comparison, but:
1. Maggette never passed, IIRC. The reason Kuminga is racking up turnovers is because he's trying to pass.
2. Kuminga plays defense.
3. Kuminga shoots the 3 ball better. Maggette had four years with decent percentages, but only once did he shoot more than 3 a game. Even in the limited minutes per game Kuminga has played in his career, he's averaging peak Maggette attempts per game, and shooting league average (far better than Maggette).
4. Kuminga just plays a better team game, including screening.
But, even if someone feels these are not that important, by the end of next season, Kuminga's ability/efficiency are going to make the comparison moot, I think.
I’d also expect JK’s hammys to hold up better. Maggette was old by the time we got him.
It me. I’m RealGM!
I mean he took 18 shots, 17 free throws, had 1 assist, and 5 turnovers. The box score looks extremely Maggette-ish (didn't see the game so can't comment on if it looked that way on the eye test).
There’s a lesson to be learned here
Just finished watching the replay. Exhausted. Long night, but I wanted to see the game.
Quick hit thoughts:
(1) Wiggs looked like 2022 playoff Wiggs out there. He and GP2 were the two main reasons why the Dubs won this game with Steph, Dray, and CP2 out.
(2) Jerome Robinson was horrid on defense, IMO. Got burned over and over. He made a couple decent plays on offense tho, and his playing time seems to hint that he has the inside track to keep the 3rd two-way slot. Color me unimpressed. I'll be sad if he nabs it. Should be going to someone with more promise and upside, IMO.
(3) Today I saw why LQ deserves a two-way. Played good defense, and had smart plays on offense with few errors. Sure, he's not a great creator, not flashy - but he's serviceable. Better than JR, at least.
(4) Didn't really get to see enough of DUG, but that jumper near the nail was nice.
(5) TJD looked pretty sharp out there. He gave me lots of reason to think that he'll get those 4th big rotation minutes this year.
(6) Speaking of bigs, Saric and Looney on a court together! It's great that we can play 2-big lineups with Saric, and not worry about opponents flooding the paint. Stretch 4 ftw.
(7) JK another 5 TO game. Man, he needs to work on reigning those in. But 13 of 17 on FTA? Amazing. If he can consistently do that in reg. season, that would be amazing, but I'm worried it's a "level of competition" illusion. He also got 6 boards, and it felt like 10, tbh. Against the Kings' starters, tho, JK was merely adequate. He didn't seem to be a liability in the starting lineup, but also didn't seem to be the "sparkplug" that he usually is.
(8) Pleasantly surprised by MM's showing. His defense was strong, and his 3-shot was accurate. His drives were... ehh. He needs to work on his handle and rim finishing.
(9) BP was impressive for a rookie. But, a rookie shouldn't be starting vs the Kings. He def. had trouble vs Fox, but also held his own a few times which impressed me. He shined more when he was playing against 2nd stringers, similar to JK, but even more so. Regular season rotation minutes I can see - not so sure about playoff rotation.
(10) GP2. How can I sing thy praises. His statline only shows 3 stocks, but it felt like he got 5-7.
(11) DUG and the DWill barely got any minutes at all. Hard to draw many conclusions from the few they did get.
(12) it felt like the second unit basically played 4-out ISO ball, where was the motion offense?
(13)I could not stand the Kings announcer - crazy homer. I'm so glad RJeff called him out on it. And I loved RJeff out there. He has such amazing insights.
Good summary. It's encouraging that Moody is getting to the rim on occasion but he does indeed need to work on finishing but based on last nights game you could say the same thing about all the young guys except JK.
RE BP and playoff rotation minutes, it's too soon to judge that. He's a rook in the preseason. He could come a long way between now and the playoffs. Or not.
“Reggie” = Richard Jefferson btw
Yes thx. Brain fart. It was too late
First time in memory that RJ came through for the dubs.
Yea I like seeing TJD out there always setting screens.
Yes, although sometimes he seemed to be out of rotation. I very much like seeing the emphatic blocks and hard won rebounds from TJD.
In terms of the players available, the Dubs lineups tonight felt more "preseason" than the last couple… but in terms of tension/excitement and the players' desire to win, this one felt a bit like a regular season game. Respect to the Golden1 Center fans continuing to bring the energy—without resorting to gross stuff like some Utah or Boston attendees in the past.
Kuminga looks a *lot* more poised than this time last season. Like, yeah, he could always levitate to the rim, but he's gotten so much better about choosing the right times to go for it—earninga basket, a foul, or both pretty consistently (instead of risking turnovers). He had only one bad, "d'oh!"-type pass this game, which I'm happy to spot him—if only certain other all-time greats on the current team could be convinced to limit their stupid turnovers to 1 per game.
One of the things about Podz I'm loving is his looking to pass ahead for a fast-break every time he gets the chance. We definitely need someone to do that when Steph & Draymond aren't able to. We got some nice points off of it this game, looking forward to that being a highlight. It's great synergy with Kuminga, TJD, and others on the team too.
Klay took a very "Klay-esque" selection of shots tonight... Luckily, he made almost all the hardest ones, which I sometimes think is more valuable than just the points because of the mental damage. The disrespect inherent in those shots is like talking trash without speaking a word.
I think I want Moody to play just a little bit more aggressively, but he did some good work late in the game. Quiñones also looked like he got into a groove as the game went on and started contributing meaningfully towards the end, although still pretty borderline. Jerome Robinson didn't look like he brought a whole lot, but he didn't make any embarrassing mistakes and he was in the right place at the right time occasionally, so that's not nothing.
Not much of note re:Šarić, Garuba, or the other guys. I mean, GP2 only got credit for 2 steals and 1 block but I was pretty sure he singlehandedly forced at least 2 more turnovers and maybe more. Oh, did you realize Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points in 22 minutes of game time? Me neither
Kuminga has arrived, finally. It's not a shiny, polished product, and might not ever be one. Never mind, just let him do his thing and have the players around him adapt to him being there. They'll get it sooner or later. He needs his freedom.
How many teams have won championships by letting one player “do his thing” and making everyone else adapt to it?
That sound like early Michael Jordan before he learned to make players around him better.
Viewing the game, I felt it was a throwaway game in the sense of Kerr testing out some possible rotations and getting a feel for the players he has. This is something that I think is necessary for the Dubs and unfortunate at the same time. Many of the players are not going to get playing time with the team and it's the fans that have to suffer through games that don't make sense. This was sort of an audition for the gleague.
Podz, after his double/double the game before, looked like he forgot how to shoot. This was troubling and the spotlight will be on him to prove this was just a bad game for him. OTOH, TJD looks like he is in control almost all of the time. He doesn't exhibit much atleticism but BBIQ is very high and allows him to be effective on the floor. I don't think Kerr knows how to work him into the rotation or what he brings, yet. Same with Usman. They are not rim protectors. We have no real big men except Looney who is not a high scorer. Saric is the real stretch 5 they have been looking for.
Moody and Quinones are shooters primarily but Lester can handle the ball. Robinson, who has a massive motor and a dog mentality can't seem to find the basket along with Podz.
I think we are going to be deficient on D this season. We look small and slow and we'll have to rely on our shooters to keep us in games. Not much playmaking and ball movement in this game with our 4 primary ballhandlers not playing, Steph, Paul, Dray, Cojo. I feel for some of the players on the edge because they will not really get the opportunity to show themselves and will wind up in our gleague or let go.
Hopefully not "deficient" overall, but without a true rim protector currently on the roster, I fear that fouling will plague us once again this season.
I refuse to accept that a team with Draymond Green, Gary Payton, Kevon Looney, Andrew Wiggins, Steph Curry, Kuminga and Moody, among others, will be deficient on D this year.
I mean sure, Kerr could throw lineups out there that would not be defensively strong, but overall I think there’s plenty of defensive ability out there…and no one who doesn’t give effort (ahem, Poole).
This is your daily reminder that Jonathan Kuminga is not actually a good basketball player, he just plays like one.
Technically, he was *trying* to play like a bad player, but he just did a poor job.
( /s )