Golden State Warriors youngsters produce their best-ever combined minutes on Christmas Day

They may have played plenty more, and put up bigger numbers against the Brooklyn Nets last Wednesday, but Sunday’s Christmas Day win showcased the most impactful combined minutes of the Golden State Warriors’ trio of recent lottery picks.

Sure, James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody may have each produced better individual performances, but they’ve never given Steve Kerr the type of joint service that was provided in the vital win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Golden State Warriors’ youngsters each stood up in front of the bright lights as the franchise recorded a much needed 123-109 win on Christmas Day.

Moody’s been struggling for regular minutes before the Warriors’ current injury issues, but he did his chances of more opportunities no harm in 17 solid minutes on Sunday. His ten points on 4-for-7 shooting included a couple of massive fourth-quarter buckets to help prevent any thought of a Memphis comeback. One of those was an and-one dunk in transition, providing perhaps the loudest moment of the night.

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Kuminga played nearly 17 minutes and while he had three disappointing turnovers, the 20-year-old was largely a positive influence particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Last year’s seventh overall pick had stints on Grizzlies star Ja Morant, proving an entertaining battle that included a Kuminga technical foul after a contentious call went against him.

On the offensive end, Kuminga’s capacity to draw defenders into biting on what is an underdeveloped jumpshot is quite amazing. He got to the line on eight occasions, allowing him to score seven points despite just two field-goal attempts for the game. Kuminga also had four rebounds, three assists and recorded the second-highest plus-minus on the team of +21.

James Wiseman didn’t even register one field-goal attempt, but this was easily his most impactful minutes of the season. Santa apparently gifted the 21-year-old with the ability to defend and rebound, or maybe it was increased confidence from his 30-piece against the Nets — either way it was a massive positive for the Warriors.

Sure, it was only just over eight minutes, but Wiseman was a strong defensive presence as he won his time against quality Grizzlies big Brandon Clarke. The former number two overall pick roamed perfectly around the lane, disrupting multiple Morant and Desmond Bane drives without fouling, while not overcommitting to give up easy layups or dunks on the backdoor. Head coach Steve Kerr went as far to call Wiseman’s defense “great” as Golden State kept the Grizzlies to 41.5% shooting from the field.

The trio also had one defining play that summed up their impactful minutes together. As seen below, Moody forces John Konchar into a tough left-handed layup, before Kuminga AND Wiseman provide the help at the rim. Kuminga gets the block which actually prevented Wiseman from an emphatic swat.

It’s easy to forget that Jordan Poole’s just in his fourth season, such is his advanced stature in the current undermanned iteration of the Warriors. The 23-year-old had 32 points to lead the team before his ejection for a second technical foul early in the fourth-quarter.

Not to be understated, 25-year-old Ty Jerome and 24-year-old Anthony Lamb, both on two-way deals, also changed the outlook of the game with some massive plays. The latter knocked down three triples early in the second period to help the Warriors to a double-digit lead, before Jerome had eight of his 14 points during a game-defining stretch late in the third.

Kerr’s been hesitant to trust his youngsters to start the season, but with Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins and JaMychal Green currently out, he has little choice but to throw them into the fire. They delivered for him beautifully on Sunday and they now have seven more home games in which to further build their confidence.