HOUSTON — Maybe the largest strategic question mark about this Warriors team is whether it has enough secondary shot creation around Steph Curry to generate offense at the tensest moments when its movement action slows.
Saturday night in Houston, the Rockets were the first team to really test that perceived weakness. After the Warriors blasted off to a 31-point first-half lead, Ime Udoka went small in the second half and had his rangy group of young wings switch everything, pressure full court and force the Warriors to create and score against them off the dribble.
The strategy flipped the game. Houston outscored the Warriors by 28 points in the second half and even led briefly. The Warriors appeared panicked and struggled to even cross half court several times. A game that felt way out of reach went to overtime. The Warriors ultimately won 127-121, but the shaky path to victory was informative.
The Warriors were without Curry because of a sprained left ankle for the third straight game, putting some of the ballhandling spotlight on Brandin Podziemski. In a couple of key fourth-quarter moments, Podziemski had his dribble swiped by Amen Thompson and Tari Eason, part of a 13-0 Rockets run to open the quarter.
But Podziemski responded, strengthening his dribble and delivering three of the night’s biggest buckets in crunchtime. Podziemski said he spent a portion of his summer training to become a better isolation scorer against bigger defenders, believing he has a higher offensive ceiling than many predict.
“When teams try to speed you up, play slower,” Podziemski said.
Here is the first of Podziemski’s three straight makes near the end of regulation. He kept Jalen Green on his back with a lefty diagonal dribble toward the left block, spun back to his right and sent both Green and Jabari Smith Jr. in the air with a pump fake, creating an opening for another pivot and easy lefty hook.
Of the three, Podziemski’s second clutch make might’ve been his most impressive. The Warriors posted him up against Thompson, a 6-foot-7 wing known for his elite defensive tools, and Podziemski patiently backed him into the lane and snuck a layup past him. Ninety seconds later, he beat another much taller defender, Smith, with another methodical drive and spin, ending it with a 9-foot fadeaway. Here are both makes.
Those three shots put the Warriors up six with 51 seconds left.
“It wasn’t Fred (VanVleet) on him,” Draymond Green said. “He took Amen to the post a couple times. He’s getting in there on bigger guys and making shots. As much as I want to applaud his skill, that’s heart. That’s ‘I want the ball in that moment and I’ll do whatever I can to score this basketball.’ Obviously, his footwork is great. But that’s sheer will and determination. That’s why he leads the league in plus/minus.”
For nearly a decade, the Warriors rarely blew a two-possession lead in the final minute of a game. The last few seasons, they’ve done it a handful of times, most memorably during a rough stretch last season that saw them cough away consecutive road games to the Kings and Clippers.
The closing seconds on Saturday felt a bit like a season ago. The Warriors led by five with 19 seconds left. Smith hit a 3 to cut it down to two. Podziemski mistakenly dribbled the inbound into trouble before calling timeout, meaning the Warriors couldn’t advance it. They drew up the ensuing inbound without an outlet option in the backcourt, leading to a Green turnover.
“We put Draymond in a tough spot,” Kerr said.
That allowed the Rockets to send it to overtime, which has been a dangerous place for the Warriors of late. They’d lost 11 consecutive overtime games on the road before Saturday. Green fouled out at the end of regulation. Podziemski fouled out 90 seconds into overtime. They were without all their primary ballhandlers against a Rockets team that had cranked up the pressure.
Kerr discussed the best strategy with his staff and opted for defense, putting Kevon Looney, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga and Kyle Anderson on the floor, believing that group could hold down a tiring Rockets unit.
The strategy worked. The Warriors held the Rockets to 2 points in the five overtime minutes. But they still needed to generate points to win, and that’s where Kuminga’s ability as a scorer dragged them across the finish line.
Kuminga spent much of his summer sharpening much of his skill work as both a scorer and a passer. He wants to be a complete player, even if his assigned role with the Warriors often limits his responsibility. He’s worked hard on his midrange work, and it came in handy during one of the night’s most important possessions.
The Warriors identified Jalen Green as Houston’s weak link and called for a screen to get him on a switch for Kuminga. Kuminga attacked his former G League Ignite teammate, spun back and hit a smooth fadeaway over Thompson’s late double.
“I’ve worked on it a lot,” Kuminga said. “It’s not something I just came out and did it.”
Kuminga’s next two overtime makes, which can be considered the daggers in a low-scoring five-minute stretch, came in exactly the fashion that Kerr and his coaching staff prefer. Here’s the first: Kuminga begins this transition possession under the rim but zips past everyone with his elite speed and then bursts into a smooth lefty layup before the Rockets can get back.
With 1:20 left, he takes Smith off the dribble and forces his way to the rim for another lefty layup.
That gave Kuminga 23 points in his 26 minutes, his third straight productive game off the bench after three lackluster performances in the starting lineup to open the season. He made two 3s, grabbed six rebounds and powered his way to the line for 10 free throws, attacking post mismatches.
“I don’t want him to love coming off the bench,” Green said. “He believes he’s a superstar. I believe he’s a superstar. As long as you believe that, you shouldn’t be OK coming off the bench. How you respond is important. You can respond with sulking. Or you can go do what you can do to help the team win. That’s what he’s doing. Not only should we talk about his play, we should talk about his maturity.”
Draymond Green on Jonathan Kuminga: “You shouldn’t love coming off the bench. But how you respond is important…Not only should we talk about his play, we should talk about his maturity.” pic.twitter.com/glkuHef8qJ
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 3, 2024
Green said Looney came into the locker room after the game and told the team this was a game the Warriors definitely would’ve lost a season ago. They haven’t often recovered and stabilized after blowing big leads the last three seasons. They did in Houston, improving their record to 5-1 with Curry possibly back as early as Monday in Washington, D.C.
(Photo of Jonathan Kuminga shooting against Jabari Smith Jr. in overtime Saturday night: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
