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Warriors’ Podz, TJD gain invaluable crunch-time experience vs. Kings originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – In the big picture, Wednesday’s win over the Sacramento Kings in the California Classic finale won’t matter much to the Warriors, other than the fact that it gave them a chance to hoist the inaugural Mitch Richmond Trophy.
Yet it was important enough that Golden State coach Anthony Vereen had summer league veterans Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis on the court in the final few minutes of the Warriors’ 91-90 victory at Chase Center.
For one thing, Vereen needed the two to help stem the tide after the Kings trimmed a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to 88-84 with two minutes remaining.
On the other hand, it gave Podziemski and Jackson-Davis a chance to sharpen up on their skills for closing out games, something that Vereen believes will be critical to the future of both players and the Warriors in general.
“For our team going forward, it’s just invaluable for those two guys to get those end-of-the-game reps to see how it feels, to try to impact winning, to try to make winning plays,” said Vereen, who complimented both players for their improved conditioning. “It’s kind of tough to go away, come back to a team, integrate yourself in it, but I thought they did pretty well with that.
“At the end of the day, we got the win and they got to get some valuable reps at the end of the game.”
It was the first time that Podziemski and Jackson-Davis played in the California Classic this season. Prior to arriving for Wednesday’s game at their waterfront arena, the two men had been playing for the USA Select Team in Las Vegas, helping prepare the USA Men’s Basketball team for the upcoming Olympic games in Paris.
For Podziemski, the effort he played with in a game that had few ramifications isn’t surprising. Since joining the Warriors as the No. 19 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the kid has been a non-stop ball of fury every time he steps on the court.
“I love playing in these games,” Podziemski said after dropping 15 points and four assists on the Kings….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/warriors-podz-tjd-gain-invaluable-055700989.html
Author : NBC Sports BayArea
Publish date : 2024-07-11 05:57:00
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