Wiseman drops career-high in bright spot of Golden State Warriors darkness

While the entire Golden State Warriors fraternity holds its breath awaiting the results of an MRI on Stephen Curry’s left shoulder, James Wiseman produced a bright spot on an otherwise disastrous day for the franchise.

Curry’s injury was compounded by the Warriors second loss in as many days, falling to the Indiana Pacers 125-119 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday. However, back on the West Coast at UCLA Health Training Center, Wiseman again proved dominant for the Santa Cruz Warriors.

Golden State Warriors’ center James Wiseman continues to impress during his G League stint, dropping a career-high 31 points against the South Bay Lakers.

Wiseman was too big and too athletic for opposing center Jay Huff early in the game, finishing a series of moves as he made his way to double-digits within the first five minutes. Santa Cruz put up 39 first-quarter points, but South Bay dominated the next two periods to set up a 128-116 win.

The result isn’t overly surprising given the Warriors were without Golden State’s two rookies, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins, each of whom had dominant games against the Oklahoma City Blue on Sunday. Baldwin was recalled from the G League ahead of the Warriors’ six-game road-trip, while Rollins was out with sickness.

Their absences did open more opportunity for Wiseman though, with the former number two overall pick taking advantage by pouring in 31 points on another efficient 12-for-17 shooting. However, his streak of five-straight double-doubles came to an end with just six rebounds as the Lakers shot nearly 50% from the field. Former Golden State two-way signing Lester Quinones had 24 points for the Warriors, with draft-and-stash prospect Gui Santos adding 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

At the start of the month, after a largely underwhelming start to his G League stint, we delved into Wiseman needing a circuit-breaker, a couple of 25-30 point games to get his confidence flowing more than anything. He’s since heeded those words, dropping at least 24 points in four of the five games, while also averaging 11 rebounds in that period.

You can see the numbers translate to increased confidence from Wiseman, who can now be seen strutting around the floor like someone who knows he’s too good for the G League level. It remains to be seen how patient the Warriors will be before bringing Wiseman back to the main squad, but one would suggest that could hinge on the results of Curry’s MRI and his subsequent recovery time.