Searching for silver linings is what you do after a summer league beatdown
Searching for silver linings is what you do after a summer league beatdown
The Warriors summer league squad didn't look especially great in a blowout loss to the Heat in their final game of the California Classic. Thankfully, these games don't actually mean anything.
Former Warriors coach and executive Garry St. Jean started off the broadcast of the Golden State Warriors’ final game of the California Classic by predicting that Moses Moody would bounce back and have 22 points.
And for a time, things were good.
Moody started off the game looking determined to shake off a shaky summer league debut with eight points in the first quarter, showing off the full range of his scoring capability.
He started off with a relocation three from the right corner out of a nice two-man game with Gui Santos. Next, he scored through contact for an and1 layup in the paint. And then he capped it all off with a strong finish after tucking the ball and splitting two defenders on his way to the rim.
He finished the first quarter with a strong 8 points on 3-for-4 shooting with an assist to Justinian Jessup as well as another nice drive and kick to Santos, which rimmed out. From a developmental perspective, the ability to seek and take contact on the way to the rim and showing some ability to finish and set up others is good to see from Moody – dude has definitely gotten stronger as he heads into his second year. Add in a steal and block in that quarter and you have to be pretty happy with the performance from a guy who we all consider to be mostly a 3-and-D guy long-term.
So St. Jean’s prediction was looking pretty good when Moody sat near the end of the first quarter. Alas…
Moody would go just 2-for-11 the rest of the way, as the threes stopped falling and the majority of his drives were cut off. To his credit, he continued to find shooters and cutters even as he struggled to score, reflected in his three assists that could’ve been five or so if his teammates finished.
Yet before we start getting down on Moody, it’s worth remembering that he is not required to have the ball in his hands or play nearly as aggressively off the bounce with the Regular Season Warriors – things could look very different when he’s asked the space the floor alongside the elite scores the Warriors have. And given his high usage rate in this game, it’s actually promising that he didn’t turn the ball over more.
So maybe this is where we need to adjust summer league expectations. Although it would be nice to see him come into these summer league games (against competition that likely won’t even be on a NBA roster) and just dominate everyone, it might just be the case that we don’t see that – and that’s fine because that won’t be his role during the regular season. The beauty of having a championship core is that we’re not looking for any of these guys to save the franchise, as some other teams might require. So let’s just appreciate the developmental wins and leave it there.
Hosts finish ugly at the California Classic
The bottom line is that there wasn’t really a whole lot to celebrate in the Warriors’ 94-70 loss to the Heat in their final game of the California Classic yesterday.
The Warriors gave up 17 offensive rebounds and 50 points in the paint. As little resistance as they were putting up in the post, it was often too easy for Heat guards to get penetration along the perimeter - there was little positive on the defensive end. Quinndary Weatherspoon had a team-high 14 points, but also had five turnovers to one assist, which is rough for the guy who started at point guard. Lester Quiñones, who led the team in scoring behind strong 3-point shooting in Game 2, had just three points on 1-for-6 shooting yesterday. On the bright side, Quiñones did officially sign his two-way contract that he agreed to shortly after the draft — a 40% 3-point shooter in college, his shooting will interesting to monitor as the Warriors move to Vegas.
Gui Santos with team-high five assists
Warriors folk hero Gui Santos played a game that is probably much closer to what we can expect moving forward – he scored 12 points on 3-for-6 shooting, including 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc.
After playing the role of lead ball handler in Game 2, it was nice to see him playing in a more natural role and knocking down some threes. He also had a team-high tying 5 assists, which could’ve been even more than that if teammates had hit shots – he sees the game well and as he continues to adjust, you can imagine him settling into a role as a wing facilitator (in summer league).
Similar to Moody, you probably wouldn’t expect Santos to drive so aggressively in a regular NBA game, should he ever see those minutes. So seeing glimpses of him moving the ball and being able to create here and there from the wing – while also still looking fluid, if raw, with the ball in his hands – could be considered promising. You can certainly imagine why the Warriors would want to keep him here in a draft rights or perhaps even a two-way situation with Santa Cruz. And that’s not bad value for the 55th pick.
But yeah, the game itself was brutal to watch – little question of that. Perhaps you can hang your hat on the fact that the Warriors could have a few more talented players in Vegas that would make some of those passes from Moody and Santos look a little better. For me, I still have both Game 6 and the championship parade on DVR so maybe I’ll go cleanse my mind with that and revel in the franchise’s fourth championship in eight years before meaningful games begin again.
Anyone trending? I can see waiting it out to fill the last roster spot. But you think they would be pining to add a vet quick. And you don't need to see a vet in Summer leagues. (Baynes aside.)
Weird stat:
If Iguodala retires, the Warriors would temporarily have the same number of players 20 and under (5, counting Gui, so cheating a bit) and 30 and over (3) as OKC. The median age is not surprisingly higher for GSW (~25.5 Warriors, 23 OKC). Bonus: Looney is about 2 1/2 years older than SGA and three years older than Lu Dort.