Golden State Warriors need Eric Paschall to dominant regularly

The Golden State Warriors’ second unit has been solid this season behind the efficient play of second-year forward Eric Paschall.

After consecutive wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, the Golden State Warriors may lost one of the most disruptive games in franchise history against the New York Knicks.

With Draymond Green‘s first-half ejection (one heavily debated as his second technical foul was for yelling at rookie teammate James Wiseman), the Warriors play slipped without the former All-Star despite Stephen Curry dropping 30.

Paschall scored 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting.

That’s been his typical stat line this season as he averages 11.9 points on 52 percent shooting. While the second unit has played well for stints, they combined for just 32 points in this one with Paschall and Kent Bazemore being the only two players to hit at least five.

That said, Paschall has played well this year and is certainly the offensive captain of the second unit, one that typically has Andrew Wiggins or Kelly Oubre Jr. on the floor as well. He needs to become the consistent fourth option for this team.

Stephen Curry is the unanimous leader, and Wiggins and Oubre Jr. have solidified themselves as elite options as well. After that, it’s a toss-up with Draymond Green nearing a career-low in scoring.

That’s where Paschall comes in.

Selected to the All-Rookie First-Team his first season in the league, Paschall thrived with all the opportunity in the world. With Green engaged and Curry back with a plethora of other weapons, Paschall’s volume scoring has dipped just a bit.

However, when he is engaged, the chance that the Warriors succeed gets astronomically better. In the ten games in which Paschall has hit double figures, the Warriors have won seven. They’re 1-4 when he either doesn’t play or doesn’t get to that mark.

It’s mostly been on Paschall though, not anything like lack of or consistent playing time. When he hits 50 percent from the field, he hits those double figures. In every non-double figure performance, he’s under 50 percent.

Asking Paschall to be better if far from easy as he’s already been playing at a high level, but if he can consistently hit that 50 percent mark, it’s clear the team is far better off.

Given his play style and size, Paschall should be able to get more around-the-rim looks to help improve those numbers. While it’d be nice to see him be marginally better, Paschall has played better than expected through these first several weeks of the season.

With just a 2.1-point per game scoring dip from a season ago, considering all the additions, he’s one of the most useful tools off the bench for head coach Steve Kerr. With his play becoming even more efficient this season, the sky is the ceiling for the 24-year-old forward.