The winning ways continued for the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, having moved to 9-2 in their last 11 games with an impressive 114-102 victory against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Superstar guard Stephen Curry again led the way with 28 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, with Brandin Podziemski and Jimmy Butler each chipping in with 19 in the comeback 12-point win.
As the Warriors continue to thrive since Butler's blockbuster acquisition before the trade deadline, Podziemski is an interesting case study in the way the 6x All-Star has impacted the young guard's game over recent weeks.
Brandin Podziemski is becoming a big factor for the Warriors
After some struggles to start the season, Podziemski has become the solidified starting shooting guard for Steve Kerr. His high IQ and versatile skillset connects really well with the veteran trio of Curry, Butler and Draymond Green, with that quartet holding a 17.6 net rating in 124 minutes together so far.
When it comes to Podziemski specifically, his shot attempts have skyrocketed since Butler's arrival to Golden State. There's a number of factors involved in that, but there's little doubt that Butler's playmaking, overall offensive threat and chemistry with Podziemski is an important element in the second-year guard often finding himself open.
Prior to Butler's acquisition, Podziemski was averaging 9.4 points on 8.1 field-goal attempts. In 10 games playing alongside Golden State's newest star, Podziemski is averaging 14.5 points on 13.2 attempts per game. As part of that, he's taking nearly two 3-point attempts more each game.
The DIME that sealed the DUB.@ampm || Assist of the Game pic.twitter.com/z7b5qCVKdQ
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 5, 2025
The fascinating aspect is that Podziemski's efficiency has remained somewhat similar, yet he's clearly a bigger part of the Warrior offense. With Curry and now Butler taking so much of the offensive attention, the 22-year-old is often the one finding himself open to take advantage.
That presents as a scary factor come playoff time, for both Golden State and opponents alike. The Warriors have the fifth-best offense in the league over the past 11 games, but imagine if Podziemski actually shot better than the 30% he's shooting from three over the same period? An already good offense would become nearly unstoppable.
At the same time, Golden State may have to live and die by 13-15 Podziemski field-goal attempts in a playoff game. Is that what they really want, and do they trust him to knock them down in a playoff setting?
That's a wait and see assuming the Warriors actually reach the postseason, but for now there has to be some serious optimism in the fact the team is playing so well while the likes of Podziemski and Butler could be much more efficient, not to mention Jonathan Kuminga is closing in on a return from injury.