Warriors' secret weapon proves he's ready for a big playoff role

After a few quiet performances and a pair of missed games due to illness last week, there was some concern on how much impact Quinten Post could have for the Golden State Warriors during the postseason.

Yet the rookie center responded in impressive fashion during the Play-In game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night, drilling a series of 3-pointers in the first-half as part of an 11-point, five-rebound performance in a 121-116 victory that sees the Warriors advance to the playoffs.

Quinten Post proved he's ready for an important playoff role

Post played nearly 22 minutes against the Grizzlies -- the most he's played in a game since March 22 in Atlanta. Following that loss to the Hawks, the 25-year-old averaged just 14.4 minutes across his final nine regular season games and shot just 28.9% from beyond the arc during that period.

Kevon Looney had played more than Post in each of the previous four games they'd both been active in, suggesting Steve Kerr was ready to lean more into the veteran center as a trusted playoff performer.

However, that balance trended back into Post's favor against the Grizzlies, with the seven-footer entering before Looney in the opening period and going onto play 12 minutes more than the 3x champion.

In a nice turnaround from his recent shooting struggles, Post's 11 points came on 4-of-5 from the floor and 3-of-4 from 3-point range. More importantly he was an equal team-high +12, while Looney was a -11 in less than 10 minutes.

While Looney may be the more experienced and safer option, Post's upside is hard to ignore and should have him cemented for reasonable playoff minutes. As the Houston Rockets await in the first-round, Post's 3-point shooting could prove a secret weapon for Golden State whose offense will be tested by a top five defense.

As the Rockets throw multiple young, big and athletic defenders at the star duo of Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, the Warriors will need their supplementary players to hit perimeter shots in order to advance.

There's an argument to be made that Post is actually Golden State's second-best shooter behind Curry, with Buddy Hield continuing to prove unreliable after a two-point, 1-of-4 shooting performance against the Grizzlies.

Of course, the defense and rebounding is still going to be a question mark and something Post needs to relentlessly focus on, but his positive impact on Tuesday shows that he's more than ready to step up to the playoff occasion.