Golden State Warriors: Same issues haunt James Wiseman in unenviable situation

Third-year center James Wiseman received his first major opportunity after a ten-game G League stint, playing 22 minutes in the Golden State Warriors’ blowout loss to the New York Knicks on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

Unfortunately for Wiseman, his performance reflected that of the team in what was a disastrous and at times embarrassing performance. With four key personnel out, Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Donte DiVincenzo and JaMychal Green, the Warriors were no match for a Knicks team who have now won eight in a row.

Many of the same offensive and defensive issues haunted James Wiseman in his 22 minutes of action for the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.

Firstly, should we be at all surprised? Asking Wiseman to showcase his development from the G League on national television against the most in-form team in the league — not the easiest challenge. That only escalates when the poor play of your teammates isn’t doing anything to hide your flaws.

Wiseman had one dunk and two emphatic blocks — aside from that it was tough viewing, even if  Reggie Miller was trying his best to hype up the 21-year-old on the broadcast. The two blocks were intertwined by five fouls, a number of poor contests against driving guards, and a goaltend that resulted in an and-one in the final period.

Every Wiseman rebound felt like a cause for celebration — it simply doesn’t come naturally which isn’t ideal for a seven-foot big man. He had less total rebounds (three) than the Knicks had offensive rebounds while he was on the floor.

Teammates don’t help him on the offensive end, but the facts are that he was also 1-for-4 from the field. He had a couple of missed fading hooks that had been thunderous power dunks during the final few games of the G League — defining a distinct lack of aggression, physicality and confidence that unfortunately hadn’t translated.

Overall, he was outplayed by the Knicks’ three bigs in Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims — three solid bigs but neither of which have mastered the role of NBA center themselves either.

There’s three perspectives on Wiseman — all of which can be true and held simultaneously. Fans can be frustrated by his play and lack of development, along with the fact his near $10 million salary could be better utilized in acquiring a winning player.

But you can also have plenty of empathy for the position he’s been put in — just three games in College then drafted second overall to a team with an experience core that wanted to get back to winning. He had Covid which practically ruined his first training camp, yet was thrust into the starting lineup on opening night. 39 games into his rookie season and a knee injury puts him out of NBA action for the best part of 18 months. He then comes back and is expected to be a rotational piece for the reigning NBA champions.

It’s these factors that lead to the third perspective — Wiseman can still be a very good NBA player if given the necessary time and patience. He’s still practically a rookie in terms of NBA experience, and perhaps that’s how we should be viewing him.

Unfortunately the Warriors, and any other contending team, can’t accommodate his needs to get to that level. With the more underwhelming performances like we saw against the Knicks, the closer we get to what may be a mutually beneficial parting of ways.