Many of the concerns surrounding Quinten Post entering the season regarded his defense and rebounding, but it's actually his inconsistent shooting that's a surprising problem for the Golden State Warriors through nine games.
Post's made strides on the defensive end and has had a couple of big shooting games in recent times, yet the reliability in his stroke has disappeared a little which is only made worse by Al Horford's own struggles to start his career with the Warriors.
Quinten Post needs to become a more consistent shooting threat
Post had 73 made threes in 42 games during his rookie year, but has only 10 so far through nine games. His percentage has dropped to 35.7% to start the season, but the bigger concern is the fact it's seemingly feast or famine for the young big man right now.
Eight of Post's 10 made triples have come in two games, having shot 4-of-7 from 3-point range against the L.A. Clippers last week before dropping another 4-of-6 performance from downtown in a win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
That means that Post is 2-of-15 from beyond the arc in the other seven games, something that's certainly played a role in more limited minutes than what would have otherwise been expected going into his second season.
The 25-year-old has certainly improved markedly in both his rebounding and his defense, but the 3-point shooting is where he butters his bread and what's going to make him a long-term NBA player.
The bigger issue at play is the fact that the Warriors aren't getting consistent production from their center rotation as a whole. You can live easier with Post's 35.7% from beyond the arc if Al Horford was drilling his threes, but the veteran center's struggles is perhaps only putting more pressure on his young teammate.
Horford is shooting just 5-of-24 (20.8%) from 3-point range through his first six games with the Warriors, including 2-of-20 if you take out the home opener against the Denver Nuggets. The concerns were epitomized on Wednesday when Post and Horford combined to shoot 0-of-13 from the floor in what was only a five-point loss to the Sacramento Kings.
There's enough improvement on the defensive end to be encouraged by Post's start to the season, but the Warriors still need more consistent production from the center position if they're to become the type of legitimate championship contender they want to be.