The Golden State Warriors made a move for Georges Niang in free agency believing that the veteran forward still has something to give after missing all of last season through injury.
Now, as the Warriors prepare to open their campaign against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, they still don't particularly know what they have in Niang after a truly up-and-down preseason.
Warriors still don't know what they have with Georges Niang
Niang appeared in five games during preseason, having understandably rested -- along with most of his teammates -- the game in Portland on the second night of a back-to-back. The 33-year-old averaged 7.6 points and 1.8 rebounds, but shot only 33.3% from the floor and 28.6% from 3-point range.
There were times during preseason where Niang looked slow, a liability on the defensive end, and without his usual 3-point expertise to make up for it. He had three combined games against the L.A. Clippers and Lakers (twice) where he tallied just 12 total points on no less than 19 shot attempts, including going 1-of-11 from 3-point range.
Yet in the other two outings against the Sacramento Kings and Trail Blazers (which was the final preseason game), Niang looked very much like the valuable power forward that could fill rotational minutes off the bench.
He scored 13 points in just 19 minutes against the Kings, shooting 4-of-6 from the floor and 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He also added 13 points and three rebounds in just 16 minutes against the Trail Blazers, going 5-of-5 from the free-throw line which proved he can make plays rather than just being exclusively a 3-point shooter.
Warriors need Georges Niang to deliver some level of consistency
Niang gave the Warriors two good games and three rather poor games during preseason. Is he a little washed after missing an entire season, and best suited to a depth piece now out of a main rotation on a good team? Or can he still be the player who averaged a career-high 9.9 points on 40.6% 3-point shooting? We still don't have an answer to those questions.
What Golden State do need is a level of consistency from Niang on a night-to-night basis. He's supposed to be a reliable veteran they can count upon, and up-and-down performances as we saw in preseason is only going to make it harder for Steve Kerr to figure out his rotations.
Niang is also playing for his spot in the rotation to some degree. Once Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody return from injury, he's a prime candidate to be booted out if not playing well. That's make his start to the season all the more important, and the fact the Warriors are counting on him is a little scary based on the inconsistent preseason production.
Add us as a preferred source on Google