"When Pat Spencer showed up at Warriors media day last week, it was a legitimate and pleasant surprise. Amid the chaos of the Warriors' offseason, and given his solid playoff performance last season, it was presumed that Spencer had signed to play elsewhere. It was no surprise, however, when Spencer after playing a team-high 21 minutes in the preseason opening win over the Lakers Sunday night was sent to the dais in Chase Center for a post-game press conference."
"I don't feel that right now, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy said last Wednesday. And he shouldn't. This team has a chance to be really, really good. Now, the Dubs will absolutely need all 15 of those bodies heading into an 82-game grinder, because the presumed closing core of Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, and Al Horford is ancient: an average age of nearly 37, with a staggering 64 combined seasons under the hood."
Pat Spencer's unexpected presence on the roster exemplifies the Warriors' deep depth and willingness to use a wide rotation. The roster features 15 players coach Steve Kerr can trust for at least a quarter each night. The team's veteran closing core carries an average age near 37, creating a need to rely on younger role players across many games. Different nights will require offensive leadership from Kuminga, Seth Curry, Moody, Podziemski, Post, or two-way players like Spencer. The depth can produce incremental wins that matter in a crowded Western Conference and influence seeding, play-in qualification, and home-court advantage.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]