Golden State’s 2023–24 season finished in a sour note at the Golden 1 Center last April. For their second preseason game, the Warriors brought a new starting five to that venue.
Klay Thompson wasn’t there, of course, because he didn’t score in the play-in loss and then left for the Dallas Mavericks.
It’s important for the Warriors to play faster, make more 3-pointers, and be more athletic on the floor and in defense. There are three new veterans on the team, and they want to play stronger attack. The Warriors’ bad season last year is a big reason for many of the changes head coach Steve Kerr wants to make.
“I don’t know if it was just that game, but I think it’s pretty bitter to lose in the play-in and not even make the playoffs,” Kerr said before the game. “But I think we knew what our flaws were last year, and they were shown in that game.”
The Warriors looked better able to handle Sacramento’s fast-paced style in the first half, when all of their main players played. However, they were behind 68-66 going into the second half. Out of their 27 3s, 15 were made. Buddy Hield (4-for-4), De’Anthony Melton (3-for-6), and Steph Curry (3-for-6) were the best at making them, but the Kings’ attack was just as good, scoring points in the paint.
As the game went on, Golden State kept hitting and making 3-pointers. In total, they made 28 3-pointers, which was more than the franchise high of 27 made in a regular season.
A crazy 53.8% clip from behind the arc helped the Warriors beat the Blazers 122-112; Golden State shot better from 3 than it did from the floor, which is not normally the case.
There are still four games left before the regular season, but here are three things you can learn from the Warriors’ first warmup game on the mainland.
New starters
They started Steph Curry, Draymond Green, De’Anthony Melton, Jonathan Kuminga, and Trayce Jackson-Davis in their first practice game, which took place in Hawaii.
Jackson-Davis was switched out for Looney at center, and Melton was switched out for Podziemski in the second one.
In the first game, Melton played great next to Curry, but Wednesday’s offense seemed easier with Podziemski in the group. This could have been because Sacramento’s defense is supposed to be bad. Podziemski is better at starting plays and making them happen.
On one play, Curry’s one-on-one didn’t work out, but Podziemski got the ball on the wing and sent Green in for an easy basket.
Podziemski also missed two easy three-point shots that he will need to make to stay in the game. There isn’t much space between Green, Looney, and Kuminga.
Jackson-Davis came in for Looney after five minutes, but the Kings were tied 18-18 in the first seven minutes of the game with the main group of starters.
The sample size is very small, and the result is the same as with the starting unit in the preseason game. Neither team has really stood out yet; they’ve just held their own.
If Podziemski hadn’t come off the bench, the second unit (Melton, Jackson-Davis, Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson, and Moses Moody) wouldn’t have had a point guard.
That could be fixed quickly by giving players different amounts of time during the regular season, but the Warriors want to make sure that their first and second units work well together.
After getting hit in the face in the first half, Podziemski (8 points, 8 assists in 23 minutes) left the game. He came back in the third quarter to lead the second unit as the point guard, driving and giving the ball while also running good pick-and-rolls.
During the preseason, teams try out different lineups. Kerr may decide to put Hield in the back court with Curry. Hield scored 22 points (8-for-9 shooting) and ended the game with a high score. That would give them the best chance to make 3-pointers, with a player who moves around and shoots being the most like Thompson.
Kings are going to cause matchup nightly issues
Questions have been raised about how De’Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis will fit in with the rest of the team’s big three. Any of them can’t really shoot well from outside, and none of them can really protect well either.
Seeing them play, though, before they even get into a rhythm, made it clear that they’ll be very dangerous on attack.
They got an open look almost every time they had the ball in the half court, whether it was a drive, a backdoor cut, or a kick-out.
DeRozan made his first six field goals, one of which was a corner three, giving him 15 points in just over a minute. Fox, who is very fast, helped the Kings get going in transition, and Sabonis ran things from the knees.
DeRozan was the power forward because he guarded Green and got protected most of the time by him. He will be too fast for fours and too skilled for players who aren’t as big. That being said, defenses will have to pick between him and Keegan Murray, a potential stretch-four.
It’s a contact sport
After Podziemski made his first 3-pointer of the night in the second corner, he was hit in the face by a King during a fast break and went straight to the hallway. Warriors trainers went after him.
A lot of physical play was seen in the game for a practice match. Green was upset that Sacramento center Alex Len hit him from behind after a play had been broken.
When the other team had the ball, Green set a hard screen that let Podziemski get open for a 3-pointer. The next time they had the ball, Podziemski made his second 3.
Soon after, Kuminga fouled Domantas Sabonis at the basket, which was his fourth foul in just 13 minutes.
With five minutes left in the half, Green argued an off-ball foul called on him against Sabonis. The crowd at Golden 1 Center went crazy.
There were no major fights, but this game, along with Friday’s preseason rematch with the Kings, was a good warm-up for what should be a tense Northern California battle this year.