The Golden State Warriors just beat the Los Angeles Lakers for the second straight preseason game, which is extremely important for reasons I will tell you at the end of this article.
There’s some key memories from this nice victory that I think will linger into the start of the season. But don’t take my word for it, seeing is believing. I’ve attached some highlights for you along with some prescient quotes from last night’s game thread in the greatest community of GSW basketball commenters in the world… the good folks at DNHQ!
Moses Moody is officially becoming a problem
“Is it me, or does Moody have a quicker first step this year? I don't really remember him beating anybody off the dribble.” — TwoRingTest
Rookie Brandin Podziemski gives a glimpse of his true powers
I'm really liking Podz's all around game, assists, rebounds, defense, and it looks like he was a 40%+ 3pt shooter in college. — Mayela Mingi
Podz is kind of a f*** revelation to me. He's not scoring, but the playmaking and defense are Ty+++ and he's only in his first season.
I didn't think he'd be very good, TBH. —TwoRingTest
Nice to see my hut on Podziemski Cay rising in value. — Loonatic
Chris Paul had five turnovers?!
CP has been a little careless with the passing. Warriors already rubbing off on him? —Abbadon
Kuminga leads Warriors with 26 points and some nasty dunks
JK with 27 minutes, 26 points, 9/12 FG, 3/5 3Pt, 5/7 FT, and +11 — Being
He was the star of the game. — Basketbum
I feel like part of the Sith Council who's been watching and waiting and we can finally unleash the young Darth Kuminga on the Rebels...— Chasing Rings
Trayce Jackson-Davis comes up clutch
TJD with the rebound, the go-ahead bucket, and what eventually became the key defensive stop. — TheSarunas
Moving On
Ahhh nothing like waking up on a beautiful Saturday after a Warriors win. Oh wait, I was supposed to tell you how important it is to beat the Lakers two times in the preseason.
Did you know every time the Warriors do that, they win a championship?
I really like reading these observations. Everything's asynchronous for me right now bc I'm in a distant time zone, so I'm coming to these comments well after the game itself, and it's interesting to see where the group's impressions matched or differed from mine. I'm most surprised to see how encouraged folks seem to be by Jackson-Davis's performance. I was just struck by how overwhelmed he looked against AD—not that you wouldn't expect as much, but it made him look a long way off to my eye. I'm not necessarily prepared to surrender that perspective completely, but it's cool to read the observations of those who spotted a bit more nuance.
Beyond that, it's great to see Podziemski looking like an NBA player already, and Kuminga looking so much more decisive and fluid. Also great to see GPII healthy—he had a gorgeous block where he pinned the ball against the backboard.
And last thing: Seemed like Steph was fairly intentional about finding space for the midrange jumper in this game. I wonder if that was coincidental, or if it's something we'll see him do more of against LA this year. I wouldn't mind that because it feels like that shot is likely to be there for him, and it's pretty efficient offense in its own right provided he's decisive about it.
Kuminga’s shot looks so much better. The eye test tells me he’s slightly less exaggerated from the way he used to put the ball right in front of his face. The release looks faster. And he’s shooting with a lot of confidence. His frustration at missing FTs looks like “what the heck happened, I make those in my sleep” instead of “I can’t believe I missed that one”. If he keeps this up, the scouting report will change and he’ll be attacking hard close outs and destroying rims.