Golden State Warriors fans, including myself, took a liking to point guard Pat Spencer last season. His scrappy play was really fun to watch and he endeared himself with his refusal to back down or be afraid. He ended up joining the Phoenix Suns in the offseason, and even though it was sad to see him go, the fact that he didn’t even play against the Warriors on Saturday night shows they probably didn’t miss out on too much.
Spencer didn't play during the game and only played seven minutes during Phoenix’s first game this season where he scored three points. That’s obviously a small sample size and it’s way too early to say that Spencer is a bust in Phoenix or anything like that, especially since he got off to a similarly slow start last season. Nevertheless, the Warriors seem to have a clear upgrade in Brandon Williams.
Warriors have clear backup point guard upgrade with Brandon Williams
Spencer was really only a valuable player for the Warriors when he was knocking down shots. He was especially streaky as a shooter, and while he could go on stretches where he looked like a legitimate NBA bench player, he could also go through stretches where he really struggled.
He got hot last season in November and December, only to come back down to earth and his numbers weren’t all that impressive by the end of the season, even though he was having to play a lot given all of the team’s injuries.
Spencer finished last season shooting 42.7% from the field and 35.7% from three-point range which isn’t awful by any stretch. Yet when Spencer isn’t shooting the ball well he becomes a much less valuable player since he doesn’t have enough in other aspects to make up for it.
Brandon Williams' speed makes him an upgrade over Pat Spencer
That’s why Williams is a superior backup point guard. The speed he brings to the table can have a really important impact on the game even if he’s not knocking down a ton of shots. In his three games with the Warriors, Williams has averaged nearly 13 points a game which is the same mark as last season with the Dallas Mavericks.
For a team that is old and slow like the Warriors, they needed an infusion of speed and athleticism and Williams is just an obvious upgrade over Spencer in that regard.
Spencer may prove that his hot streak last season wasn’t a fluke with Phoenix, and even if he does sort of fade away we will always have fond memories of him going off and pounding his chest in Philadelphia.
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