It didn't take long for Brandon Williams to prove his worth to the Golden State Warriors, with the recently acquired guard emerging as the biggest positive from an otherwise underwhelming first preseason performance against the L.A. Clippers in Hawaii on Sunday.
Williams' speed and burst was on display despite being part of a rather sluggish Warrior offense, having finished with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting which featured a number of explosive drives to the rim.
Brandon Williams signing looks better for Warriors after one game
Williams was also impressive as a facilitator in the second-half, combining with his big men to also finish with three assists and only one turnover in less than 16 minutes off the bench. The former Dallas Mavericks guard was also a team-high +16 in the game, leading the Warriors back into the lead after they fell behind by 12 at half-time.
Golden State would go onto lose 104-101 after Clippers rookie Keaton Wagler nailed a go-ahead jump-shot in the final 15 seconds. The Warriors had scored just 43 points in the first-half behind a number of turnovers and inefficient shooting.
Based on this performance not only from Williams but also the team, the 26-year-old is going to play a major role early in the season as Golden State look to build a productive offensive without six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, and with a question mark over starting center Kristaps Porzingis.
The early indications are that the Warriors may have got a steal by signing Williams to a minimum contract, while questions have to be asked as to why no one around the league, not even Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the Golden State front office, was willing to give him a guaranteed deal after a career-best year with the Mavericks last season.
Warriors' offense struggles in preseason loss to Clippers
Some of the concerns over the Warrior offense and its lack of punch was evident during the preseason opener. Their determination to turn the ball over less didn't materialize in the first-half as they gave the ball away on 10 occassions, while that was compounded by shooting just 32.6% from the floor and 30% from 3-point range.
Golden State managed to pick it up in the second-half, but that will be little consolation to Steve Kerr given much of it came from end of the bench players who won't be part of the main rotation come opening night.
Charles Bassey had 12 points and eight rebounds in just over 16 minutes, while fellow big man Graham Ike had 11 points and five boards in similar playing time. Stephen Curry was the only starter to reach double figures, going for 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting in less than 13 minutes.
The Warriors will now fly home to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in their second preseason game on Tuesday, before facing the Trail Blazers in Portland on the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday.
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