As part of Blue Man Hoop’s new system of weekly columns, editor Angelo Mendoza introduces the “Surf City Summary,” which focuses on the Santa Cruz Warriors — the G League affiliate of the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
Outside of the city’s local news site and the incredible G League coverage of 2 Ways & 10 Days, I pride myself in being DubNation’s main source of news concerning the Santa Cruz Warriors — the G League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors.
Before I get into everything, I’d like to extend a special thank you to everyone in Surf City that takes the time to read all of my work related to Santa Cruz. Since receiving the opportunity to cover the Sea Dubs two years ago, I’ve felt extremely welcome by both the organization and the fan base, and I honestly couldn’t think of a better place to have a G League team.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to make my way out to Kaiser Permanente Arena in a while due to a debilitating case of pneumonia, so consider this weekly column a way to not just sum up all the Warriors news in Santa Cruz, but a way for me to catch up on all the news I may have skipped out on or missed over the course of the regular work week.
This column will appear every Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. PT, so be sure to check in with me every Sunday to get the latest on the Sea Dubs.
Without further ado, let’s dive in!
Cook starts for GSW in place of Curry
I didn’t have the chance to report on this when it was first announced, but Warriors 2-way contract player Quinn Cook rejoined the Golden State Warriors following Stephen Curry‘s ankle injury, proceeding to start in Curry’s place against the Charlotte Hornets last Wednesday.
In 22 minutes, Cook finished with eight points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field, adding in three rebounds and three assists. Wednesday’s game in Charlotte was notably his first NBA start ever, but he certainly left no doubt that he’s as capable of leading a major league team when necessary.
It’s important to differentiate between an actual G League player being called up to a major league NBA team and a 2-way contract player rejoining a team. Though it’s true that two-way contracts will spend most of their time in the G League, the fact of the matter is they are technically part of the parent team — not the G League affiliate.
Each major NBA team is allowed TWO 2-way contract players. In the case of the Warriors, they have both Cook and Chris Boucher. Both players will spend most of their time in Santa Cruz, but they are each able to spend up to 45 days of service with Golden State as part of their development.
In other words, Golden State is merely using a portion of the 45-day allowance to add Cook to their backcourt depth; therefore, he won’t be stealing anyone’s minutes (ex. Patrick McCaw, Nick Young, JaVale McGee, Kevon Looney) any time soon.
But that’s not to say he’s undeserving of that role: among all G League players that have played more than 10 G League games, Cook currently ranks third in points (25.1) and third in assists (8.4). Golden State signed a decorated G League alumnus, and he has yet to disappoint this season.
Dame continues to progress
Damian Jones has been soaring in his time with Santa Cruz — both literally and figuratively. He’s continue to evolve into the 2-way player many of us envision him becoming, proving to be a force to be reckoned with on both ends of the floor.
Overall, he’s shown a great deal of growth since last year. While playing 31 games with the Sea Dubs last season, Jones averaged 11.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 2.1 blocks on 58.0 percent shooting.
This season, Jones has played 15 games on averages of 17.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.3 blocks on 70.6 percent shooting. As of right now, Jones ranks second in blocks among centers that have played more than 5 games and second in field goal percentage among all players that have played more than 5 games.
While the work he did over the offseason has certainly played a part in his progression as a basketball player, it’s clear that Jones is a great deal more used to the speed and grind of the NBA this season.
Rather than being forced to arrive late to the party due to an unfortunate pectoral injury, Jones began the season healthy and has only continued to build on each and every outing. It’s gonna be incredible scary to watch him play after he finds his niche and develops a consistent rhythm.
Niang is the Draymond of Santa Cruz
Georges Niang has really found a fit with the Santa Cruz Warriors. His skillset is absolutely perfect in the Warriors system, acting as a small ball big man capable of spacing the floor with his long range shooting prowess and impressive passing ability.
Though I wouldn’t necessarily consider him a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, his versatility certainly reminds me of Golden State’s jack-of-all-trades, Draymond Green. Like Green, Niang is Surf City’s Swiss army knife, utilizing a many number of tools to fit a number of different strategies.
This season, Niang is averaging 18.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 33 minutes per game. He’s shooting 56.3 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from behind the arc and 88.5 percent from the free throw line.
Among his teammates, Niang ranks second in points, third in rebounds, third in assists, fifth in steals and third in both field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. It’s not difficult to draw comparisons to Draymond.
Niang is also a willing defender. When he’s on the court, opponents have been limited to 42.7 percent shooting from the field and only 34.7 percent shooting from long range. When he’s off the court, opponents have shot 44.4 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from long range.
I highly doubt Niang will make it through the season with Santa Cruz; he’ll be called up soon enough, just as Antonius Cleveland was with the Dallas Mavericks.
Sea Dubs on 4-game win streak
After losing to the Reno Bighorns, the Santa Cruz Warriors have won four consecutive games, defeating the Oklahoma City Blue, Sioux Falls Skyforce and the Austin Spurs. Three out of those four games have been on the road, and the Sea Dubs will look to extend their streak to five when they visit the Spurs again on Sunday.
The Warriors have exceeded all expectations through the first 15 games of the season, averaging 116.5 points, 46.5 rebounds, 27.3 assists and 6.7 blocks on shooting splits of 51.6/40.0/80.5.
Among all G League teams, they rank fifth in points, third in rebounds, first in assists, second in blocks first in field goal percentage, third in 3-point field goal percentage and third in free throw percentage.
In addition, the Sea Dubs rank first in plus-minus (+10.3), net rating (10.8) and eighth in opponents’ points per game (106.2).
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While the fact of the matter is that the Warriors only have the third best regular season record in the league (10-5), I certainly think the team is in the conversation of which G League team is the best in the Western Conference.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see them top the Western Conference by the end of the regular season and possibly bring Santa Cruz its second championship trophy.