Kurtenbach: Brandin Podziemski’s sophomore slump threatens the Warriors’ hot start
The season-ending knee injury to Warriors guard De’Antony Melton might not seem like a big deal.
After all, Warriors fans barely knew him. He played in only six games for Golden State this season, and the Dubs have gone 7-1 without him in the lineup.
How can you miss something you never really had?
But make no mistake: this injury matters significantly to the Warriors because of its implications for the remainder of the team. Everyone has to slide up now. And not just for a few games, either.
The Warriors’ depth — the strength of this team on its brilliant start to the campaign — will be seriously tested from this point onwards.
And a supposed “future All-Star” will have to significantly up his game.
Melton represented the ideal off-guard to play next to Steph Curry this season. He’s a classic 3-and-D player — someone who can guard the point guard on other teams while knocking down the open 3-pointers Curry’s gravity creates on the other end of the floor.
There’s a reason why Warriors coach Steve Kerr closed with Melton in last week’s game against the Mavericks — in the big moments of the season, Kerr didn’t want to sacrifice offense for defense or vice versa. Versatility wins games, and Melton had it.
And while the Warriors don’t lack alternatives at the No. 2 guard spot, those players also don’t lack for questions.
Remember, Kerr started the season with Andrew Wiggins at the 2. That was a failed experiment.
So now Kerr will lean more on Lindy Waters III, a sharpshooter whose defense leaves plenty to be desired (even if his effort on that end of the court is on point), Moses Moody, who is a forward, Gary Payton II, who is often a detriment on offense.
And then there’s Brandin Podziemski.
The rest of those players have a role, know it, and play it well.
But only one depth piece was called a “revelation” by the team’s owner this past summer. “A future All-Star,” in fact.
That’s hardly the Podziemski we’ve seen so far this season.
Yes, the second-year guard has been working through illness and injury — he’s had a tough string of luck to start the season. But does that fully explain why he appears to be a player who is struggling to find his form from last year — much less a better version of it?
I don’t think so.
No, this looks to be a classic sophomore slump.
I see it, you see it, we all see it. Draymond Green had no problem calling out Podz’s struggles after Wednesday’s game, in which Podziemski missed all five of his 2-point attempts, scoring only 3 points in 15 minutes.
“What he’s trying to work through is y’all’s fault,” Green said. “It’s hard having a great rookie season and coming back having a good second year or better. It’s tough.”
“That’s why you’ve always heard about the sophomore slump. I think for him, he’s just put so much pressure on himself or the player he wants to be or that he thinks he should be, and that’s unnecessary.”
But is it the media’s fault? I don’t recall hyping Podziemski as the second coming of Dwyane Wade. I never once called him a future All-Star. In fact, I didn’t know anyone in the media who didn’t privately scoff at Lacob’s notion.
And don’t forget that the Warriors balked at making a trade for actual All-Stars this summer, as they didn’t want to include Podziemski in a deal with Utah for Lauri Markkanen. (While that wasn’t the only reason that deal wasn’t made, it’s still notable.)
No, this overhype problem seems to be an internal issue for Podziemski and the Warriors—not an external one.
Good on Kerr for not buying into the C-suite hype. He’s put Podziemski in advantageous situations all season.
But with Melton out of commission, that’s going to stop.
This is a player whose game was never predicated on athleticism, but on rather toughness and a herky-jerk style. Now the league has a book on him, and they’re using it.
Podziemski is shooting 39 percent from the field and only 20 percent from beyond the arc this season. His periphery stats have stayed steady — he’s still good to draw a charge or two a game, too — but his newfound inability to put the ball in the basket doesn’t seem like strictly bad luck. Teams know how to play him now, and he hasn’t provided a counter.
More attention — which naturally comes with more minutes — might help Podziemski find that second gear, but it also might limit his game even more, as he won’t be able to fly under the radar with bench-versus-bench minutes.
The second-year guard out of Santa Clara will see more big-moment minutes moving forward. There’s simply no way around it for the Dubs — he’s the only true two-guard who can reasonably seen as a two-way option on this roster.
And we’re about to find out just how reasonable that sentiment is.
Because if Podziemski can’t pull his way out of this start-of-the-season slump, the Warriors might find themselves reconsidering that trade market.