What we learned as Warriors debut young trio in loss to Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The Warriors rolled out the trio of the future for the first time Tuesday night. It quickly became apparent there is much more competitive desire than harmony.
With Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman – lottery picks selected over the last 20 months – playing together for the first time, the Warriors exhibited very little cohesion, a lot of individualism and a glimmer of promise.
The result? An eye-opening 103-92 loss to the Boston Celtics in Las Vegas Summer League activity at Thomas & Mack Center.
Despite falling behind by as much as 23 points twice in the first half, the Warriors recovered nicely and came back to outscore Boston 48-39 in the second half.
Here are some observations, in alphabetical order, of the three Warriors under the brightest spotlights:
Kuminga
There were a couple of nice drives into the paint that showed a measure of control, indicating he is working on one of the weaker parts of his game.
There were a couple of glorious dunks, which Kuminga can deliver in his sleep.
The most encouraging aspect was Kuminga’s second-half offense, as he scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-3 from deep, in only 13 minutes.
But there also were a couple of tunnel-vision moments, with JK going one-on-one as his teammates were reduced to bystanders. This was a frequent occurrence during his rookie season, and it was one of the biggest pet peeves of the coaching staff. With coach Steve Kerr’s well-established ball-movement principles, Kuminga can’t expect a boost in playing time if he can’t curb this tendency.
Kuminga played a good overall offensive game, finishing with a game-high 29 points, on 11-of-22 shooting, but grabbed only two rebounds.
Moody
The entire franchise exhaled in the final minute of the game when Moody was hit in midair on a drive and landed hard. He remained down for a couple of minutes but was able to finish the game.
Moody was one of the few Warriors showing signs of vibrant life early, playing with energy but struggling with his shot.
Sharing playmaking duties with Mac McClung, Moody scored 21 points, on 6-of-19 shooting from the field, including 2-of-9 beyond the arc, along with four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Wiseman
Playing mostly in four-minute spurts through three quarters, Wiseman put in eight of his 21 minutes in the fourth and made a modicum of impact.
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Clearly aware of his projected rim-protection duties, the 7-foot-1 center is taking the role to heart. His physicality in the paint has taken an uptick, and that’s a welcome sight for the Warriors.
However, he’s still a bit jumpy and his man/ball awareness is less than the Warriors would like. Some of this could be related to his long layoff, but it’s still an area of concern.
Wiseman finished with six points, on 3-of-9 shooting from the field, missing his only 3-point attempt. He added seven rebounds – one short of Gui Santos’ team-high eight – and three blocks.