Golden State Warriors’ second-year power forward Eric Paschall has come into his own since three-time All-Star Draymond Green has returned.
The Golden State Warriors started the season 0-2, with losses at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets. Draymond Green was not present in those two games and was out due to both Covid-19 tracing and a sore foot.
With the former 2016-2017 Defensive Player of the Year off, that gave second-year forward Eric Paschall an opportunity to showcase his skills with the starting unit. The 6-foot-7 forward out of Villanova started those two games and did not play great at all.
Eric Paschall Since Draymond Green’s Return
When the Warriors traveled to Chicago to take on the Bulls, Draymond Green made his season debut, thus moving Eric Paschall to the bench. In the first two games, Paschall scored a combined 13 points.
Against the Bulls, he put up his previous season-high of 15 points. In his 19 minutes of play, Eric Paschall was able to help contribute to the first win of the season for Golden State by getting to the line and knocking down a three.
Detroit was much of the same result, as Eric Paschall was able to score another double-digit performance in just 13 minutes, showing that he can produce in small amounts of time.
Eric Paschall had his way in the first half against the Clippers. Paschall led all scorers with 15, and in the second half, did not do as much, but still contributed. He finished with 19.
Over the last few games, we have been able to see head coach Steve Kerr use Paschall at the five at times, generating a formidable “small ball” lineup. Against Portland, Paschall dominated Enes Kanter in their center matchup and forced the Trail Blazers to pull him off the floor when they realized he could not guard Paschall’s pull-up jumper.
In this one against Los Angeles, Paschall was in the closing lineup, which means that Kerr has faith and trusts him to make plays when the game is on the line. With 4:30 left, Paschall was on the floor as the Warriors trailed by just a few.
He did get pulled for Wiseman, but Warriors fans should be okay with that. With the flashes that he has shown, Eric Paschall may be a future Sixth Man of the Year
An accomplishment that a Warrior has not done in the history of the award and Paschall could become the first.