Getting the newcomers ready
In August 2014, entering his second of four seasons with the Lakers, Nick Young tweeted that that he has no tattoos on his right arm because that limb is “strictly for buckets.”
It only reinforced his reputation as a gunner. For much of his 10-year NBA career, Young has prided himself — albeit jokingly for the most part — on his aversion to assists. That might have to change now that he is on a Warriors team built around making the extra pass.
“I found myself passing a little bit more than normal today,” Young said Sunday after his second practice with Golden State. “It felt good, you know?”
The Warriors spent training camp last year incorporating six players, including Kevin Durant, into head coach Steve Kerr’s movement-heavy system. With five more practices until Saturday’s preseason opener against Denver, Golden State eyes a much less daunting objective: get its three newcomers who are on guaranteed contracts, Young, Omri Casspi and Jordan Bell, acclimated to the team’s playing style.
It helps that those players were brought in to fill clear roles. Though he will be counted on for solid defense and passing, Young will be asked mainly to replace the bench scoring that Ian Clark, now with the Pelicans, provided last season. Casspi is a backup swingman who can offer the screens and make jumpers that are fundamental to the Warriors’ system. A second-round pick from Oregon, Bell’s defensive versatility could get him on the court early.
This first week is about reviewing fundamentals. Because Golden State’s offense relies more on reads than on plays, Kerr expects Young, Casspi and Bell to get comfortable quickly. The Warriors’ hope is that, by the time they take the floor Saturday, the Warriors will have zeroed in on some areas where they were deficient last season.
More accurate passing is at the top of Kerr’s to-do list. Though Golden State easily paced the league last season with 30.4 assists per game, it was susceptible to sloppy feeds. Too often Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson had to snag the ball near his ankles before hoisting shots.
“We are the most unselfish team around, but we’re probably an average passing team in terms of fundamentals,” Kerr said. “You can just see on tape a lot of times a guy catches the ball at his shoelaces instead of in his shooting pocket. There’s a dramatic difference between makes and misses when you get a bad pass or a good pass.”
That the Warriors are addressing such a nuanced issue so early speaks to their lack of glaring weaknesses. This is a team that won 67 regularseason games before cruising through the playoffs with a 16-1 record. Then, it improved: Young is projected to be better than Clark, Casspi better than Matt Barnes and Bell better than James Michael McAdoo. Twelve players on Golden State’s roster won an NBA title together just three months ago.
Perhaps more than basketball, the biggest adjustment facing the Warriors’ newcomers is based in culture. Few teams, if any, have more fun than Golden State. Hiphop music thumps through the loudspeakers at every workout. An advocate for rest, Kerr is more apt to give his team a day off than practice an hour longer than initially scheduled. Pranks are common in the locker room.
In most of their previous stops, Young and Casspi were taught to view a laid-back atmosphere as a symptom of losing. They have reached the playoffs three times in their combined 18 seasons in the NBA. Though Young has reached the conference semifinals once, in 2009 with the Clippers, Casspi has yet to escape the first round.
“We have structure here, but it’s a loose structure,” Durant said. “You want guys to be confident. You want everyone to be who they are. Coach is going to bring us together as a team. It’s just going out there and playing, man.”
Playing under Kerr protege Luke Walton in Los Angeles last season, Young averaged 13.2 points per game and shot 40.4 percent from three-point range. Now, as he gets accustomed to making the extra pass, Young is repeatedly reminded to shoot.
“I don’t want Nick out there thinking,” Kerr said. “He’s one of the best shooters in the league, and he should let it fly every time he’s open.”