James Wiseman hit another benchmark in his NBA career on Wednesday when the rookie got through his first scrimmage as a Warrior.
Wiseman’s first scrimmage featured positives and negatives, but overall it was categorized as “good” by coach Steve Kerr.
“It was good, we played for 12 minutes, so both James and Draymond had to really blow it out and they needed that run to feel the pace of the game and go up and down,” Kerr told Bay Area reporters. It’s just what you’d expect from a guy who hasn’t played basketball in a year, so he made some great plays with his athleticism and his speed, and he was a little late on some of the plays because he has never experienced what he is looking at before.
‘Just what we expected. I think the most important thing is to just help him out. Because he didn’t have the benefit of a summer league and we just throw him in the fire. So it will take some time, but all in all a very good day. “
But all the mistakes the No. 2 made were overshadowed by his impressive athleticism.
“He’s just so athletic and fast in the transition and his ability to go up and down and finish every stretch is impressive,” said Kerr. “The stuff that needs to slow down for him is just his coverages, schedules, angles when we’re playing offensive plays, angles on his screens, what’s next if the first option isn’t there. All the little things out there. stacked his board before he even had a chance to get onto an NBA floor with other players in a full-court setting.
“It’s all going very fast, so it will take a while.”
Wiseman reiterated Kerr’s assessment of his performance in the scrimmage.
“I thought today’s training was great,” Wiseman told reporters. “We just got to know each other, basically got our chemistry and just trusted each other, tried to work on our plays and stuff, tried to make sure we know each other’s tendencies. But it was a great exercise today.
“My mistake was basically just going in the post and making sure I had to split and go to the basket, but I missed one. I’m only getting better at that. I learned a lot of things. also made great plays. So I’m just learning. “
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Kerr said Wiseman and Draymond Green will not play in the Warriors’ preseason final against the Kings on Thursday.
Despite no preseason action, Kerr wouldn’t say Wiseman wasn’t in the race to be the starting center of the Warriors when Golden State opens the season against the Brooklyn Nets on December 22.
“No, I wouldn’t necessarily say that,” Kerr said when asked if the starting place belonged to Kevon Looney and Marquese Chriss. ‘I think it could be one of three. It just depends on where we are next Tuesday. ‘
When Wiseman first takes the floor as Warrior, Kerr said he will initially play the 19-year-old in short bursts, doing what’s best to help Wiseman learn the NBA game.
“Considering he’s been through all these long, probably short bursts. We’ll have to see how each game goes depending on what happens on the floor. We will definitely want to keep his bursts short so we can teach him.” ” We don’t want to play him for 10-12 minutes and let him learn nothing. So our job is to balance that with how the game plays out. We try to win the game.
‘So if he’s okay, we might leave him there. If he’s having a hard time, we’ll take him out. ‘
After spending a year at the bottom of the NBA, the Warriors are ready to return to the spotlight. Wiseman is a big part of their plans to compete this season and for years to come.