This past off-season, the Golden State Warriors drafted James Wiseman number two overall. He made his NBA debut on Tuesday night against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Golden State Warriors had a rough season last year. With injuries to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, fans were tortured with a 15 win season.
We all know about the injury that happened in the 2019 finals to sharpshooter Klay Thompson. A torn ACL would force him to miss the entire 2020 season and make head coach Steve Kerr’s job that much harder.
Stephen Curry played a mere five games due to a broken wrist and returned in March. However, after playing his first game back, Curry was pulled when the pandemic hit.
The Warriors’ off-season had its up and downs. While Klay Thompson was supposed to be back, he tore his Achilles in a workout that would sideline him for another full season.
Due to their lack of success, Golden State ended up with the second overall pick in the past draft. With that pick, they chose Memphis big man James Wiseman. He made his debut on Tuesday in the Warriors’ first game of the season – how did he do?
Three Takeaways
Ability to run P&R
We were able to see James Wiseman run a pick and roll with Stephen Curry, in which he looked terrific a few times. Wiseman’s first NBA points were on a pick and roll and ended in a dunk. In another pick and roll situation, Stephen Curry lobbed the ball to Wiseman, where only he could catch it and finish.
One thing he could do better at is his ability to create space off of his screens. This will help shooters like Curry and Wiggins have more time and space to score successfully.
Wiseman showed tremendous potential in running the pick and roll with a great passer like Curry, and only time will tell if he can make that a primary skill of his.
Athleticism is jaw-dropping
Wiseman displayed outstanding athleticism in his debut as a Warrior. He was able to score his first points on a dunk, in which he took off from outside the paint and finished with two hands strongly.
Another key play where Wiseman showed his athleticism was on a high post touch. Wiseman rolled to the outside with the ball and made an acrobatic finish with his left hand.
Warriors fans should be very excited for the team’s future, as Wiseman will only continue to get better.
Shot looks good so far
Coming into the draft, many people knew Wiseman had great potential for his offensive game. In this game, he showed some fluidity in his shooting stroke.
On a pick and pop play with Wannamaker, Wiseman caught what was really a bad pass and splashed home a three. On another play, Wiseman hit a midrange jumper from the corner and looked very comfortable in doing so.
If he can show a consistent jump shot, Wiseman can help this team tremendously.