The Golden State Warriors have now rattle off six straight wins, and in their most recent one against the Miami Heat, they were able to rest Stephen Curry and Draymond Green for much of the fourth quarter as the bench unit sustained a commanding lead over a disjointed Miami offense.
That, in and of itself, is a major victory. As the Warriors attempt to carve out a solid record in this early-season stretch without Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, it's going to take major contributions from the team's secondary contributors to lift some of the burden off Golden State's veterans. They've done that successfully so far, and much of the credit goes to Yaxel Lendeborg.
Lendeborg has not only been a true secondary option for this team now that Kristaps Porzingis is officially off the table—averaging 21 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while shooting 49.2% from the field across his first nine games—he's also helped run the bench offense, taking on on-ball responsibilities when Curry's been off the court and growing with each passing game in those abilities.
He's had his star performances, including his 37-point explosion against the Los Angeles Clippers, and that's a massively encouraging sign of the type of player the Warriors have on their hands. But at the end of the day, he's a rookie, and there are going to be nights where his major contributions don't come as a scorer.
If he can continue to provide value even in those games, like he did against the Heat, the Warriors officially have the most valuable player in the Draft on their hands.
Yaxel Lendeborg can be a star scorer—but he needs to continue to provide value outside of that aspect of his game
Don't get it wrong—Lendeborg absolutely can function as the Warriors' secondary, and sometimes even primary, scorer alongside Curry. He's got such a variety to his offensive game, both working downhill against larger defenders and consistently taking his shots from beyond the arc, that it's hard to argue otherwise at this juncture.
But there are going to be nights for Lendeborg this season like the one he had against Miami (and like the one he had against the Phoenix Suns on Monday). Between those two games, Lendeborg averaged 16.5 points while shooting 37.5% from the field.
Neither was the most encouraging offensive performance from the rookie. But he provided major value in both, especially against the Heat, in the other areas of his game. He's functioned as a consistent rebounder, out-muscling opponents on the interior to grant the Warriors extra possessions, and his value as a ball-handler comes close to outweighing the extra six or seven points per game the Warriors have come to expect at this early point in his career.
More importantly, he's helped keep the bench unit viable, and that's something the Warriors truly haven't had on this roster over the past couple of season. Golden State's bench outscored Miami's 43-27 over the course of last night's matchup. Through nine games, they're third in the league in bench scoring, only trailing the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies in that category.
Lendeborg has also found his way, rapidly, into the flow of the Warriors offense, learning to move off of the ball when necessary and work around the ball-movement, screen-setting core of their attack.
With the injuries the Warriors are currently facing and the deficits this roster still has, they have no choice but to ask Lendeborg to provide major value on a night-to-night basis. The fact that he can do that without a major scoring performance is the most encouraging part of his rookie breakout so far.
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