New-look second unit gains confidence in win over Lakers
Kerr adds Kelly Oubre Jr. to second unit, and it pays dividends.
The defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers haven’t had trouble with many opponents this season and that proved true for much of Monday’s game against the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors’ best players, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins, all finished with a negative plus-minus stat while rookie center James Wiseman struggled to stay on the floor in a 13-minute performance that featured five fouls and five turnovers.
Against the first-place team in the Western Conference, the Warriors still pulled out a 115-113 comefrom-behind win.
Led by a new-look second unit that featured Kelly Oubre Jr., the Warriors bench players were the catalysts in an unlikely 19-point comeback. Oubre’s poor shooting has been the source of plenty of frustration this season, but the aggressive forward enjoyed his best game with Golden State with 23 points on a 9-for-18 night from the floor.
With the help of secondyear “small ball center” Eric Paschall, who scored 19 points in 19 minutes, and efficient play from several other reserves, the Warriors outscored the Lakers by 13 points in the final quarter.
“I think the game has gotten easier for (Paschall) with the new role,” Kerr said Tuesday. “What I’m really excited for his is the force of his cuts and the pace of his action.”
With Oubre taking Wiggins’ place with the second unit, the Warriors lost their primary scorer from the group but gained a player who appeared to seamlessly adjust to the intensity the reserves play with.
“He’s great out there,” Paschall said of Oubre. “His energy, I match it. We both talk a little trash and do little antics, but I feel like it’s great for both of our energy.”
Curry finished the night as the Warriors’ leading scorer while Green led the team in assists and rebounds, but Golden State’s top players knew the surprise victory over a Lakers team led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis wouldn’t have been possi- ble without the help of key backups such as Kevon Looney, Brad Wanamaker and Damion Lee.
“There’s a lot of guys playing with a chip on their shoulder,” Wanamaker said of the second unit. “Us having a chance to sit and read the game, we can see what’s working for us and what’s not.”
Aside from an improved night on the offensive end of the floor, Oubre was instrumental in shutting down James as he held the four-time MVP to 19 points on 16 shots. With Oubre often in his face, James committed a handful of late turnovers that provided Golden State with an opportunity, and the Warriors seized it.
“He just brings energy,” Curry said postgame. “He’s always done that, no matter how he’s shooting and all of that. He always brings energy.
Kerr said he isn’t certain if Oubre, Jr. opening the second and fourth quarters as a member of the Warriors’ second-unit is a longterm fit, but he’ll continue to play with the group on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs.
TEACHING MOMENT >> When the time finally comes for Warriors forward Draymond Green to pursue a career after basketball, there’s little doubt he could make an immediate impact as a coach.
Fortunately for Golden State and Wiseman, Green isn’t waiting for retirement to impart his wisdom on younger players.
Green and Wiseman have often been spotted on the court and on the bench this season with the veteran forward playing the role of “teacher” to the teenage center “student,” but it’s often difficult for fans to know the types of messages Green is relaying. In Monday’s nationally televised game between the Warriors and Lakers, TNT microphones and cameras gave viewers a glimpse of the way Green is mentoring Wiseman and the confidence he has in the talented yet far-from-polished rookie.
“Come here, I told you, if you’re open anywhere on the floor I’m going to hit you,” Green told Wiseman during a stoppage in Monday’s win. “You can catch that ball right there and make a play.”
The exchange took place immediately after Green pushed the ball up the floor to Wiseman, who promptly had it stripped by a Lakers defender as he approached the basket.
“I didn’t see it,” Wiseman told Green.
“You didn’t see it, that’s my point,” Green replied. “Always see the ball, because I’ve got you in open space against Marc Gasol. I like that. You see me? Come on. I like that. I think that’s you.”
Finding a consistent rhythm has been challenging for Wiseman, who only played three college games at Memphis before becoming the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.
“I told him, I put you in a tough spot, I did, 100%,” Green said. “But I think you can handle being in that tough spot. I’m going to do it again. I’m going to throw you the ball in that spot again, you’re going to be in transition and next time you’re going to figure it out.”