Only a week ago the Golden State Warriors were off to an 0-3 start, and the free agency signing of Georges Niang appeared like a disaster after the veteran forward had started 0-of-12 shooting from three-point range.
Fast-forward to now and the Warriors have completely shifted the outlook of their season with three-straight wins, while Niang has completely embodied the early-season turnaround with productive and important minutes during all three victories.
Georges Niang perfectly embodies early Warriors' turnaround
Niang had nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc in Denver on Monday night. With Gui Santos missing due to knee soreness, the 33-year-old stepped into a starting role against the Timberwolves on Wednesday, playing nearly 23 minutes where he had seven points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals on 3-of-6 shooting.
Santos' return pushed Niang back to the bench on Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers, yet it was his best and most important performance to date as Golden State recovered from a 25-point deficit to record an extraordinary 17-point win.
Niang had nine of his 11 points in the first-half, going a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point range in just over eight minutes to help spark life to a Warrior offense that had produced just 15 points in the opening period. He was a +7 in the first half and +14 in the second, finishing as a game-high +21 while finishing with 11 points and five rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting.
It wasn't just the scoring production either. Niang went nose-to-nose with Lakers guard Collin Sexton, delivering the kind of "won't stand down" approach that you'd expect from a veteran but is important for team morale and cohesiveness.
Georges Niang now needs to deliver consistently
The question of whether Niang is potentially washed after a year out of the game has now been answered. He's not. He can still provide valuable minutes as a stretch forward who can use his size effectively at times on the defensive end.
The next question is whether he can do it consistently across the course of a season, and whether that makes Niang trustworthy enough as a rotation piece come playoff time if the Warriors can make it that far.
The other aspect is who falls out of the rotation when Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody return from injury? There's no doubt Niang was signed as an early season replacement for that duo, but he's also subsequently at risk of falling victim to a rotation squeeze when Butler and Moody eventually return.
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