Did Wiseman turn corner in Warriors’ win over Bucks?
Answering some questions on the heels of the Warriors’ 122-121 win over the Bucks on Tuesday night at Chase Center.
As always, thanks to everyone who sent questions. You can submit questions for future mailbags on Twitter (@wcgoldberg) or by email (wgoldberg@bayareanewsgroup.com).
Hope this acts as a turning point in (James Wiseman’s) season. — @dhawan_riten
I’m sure Wiseman does, too. After Tuesday’s win over the Bucks, he could hardly contain himself after posting 13 points and 10 rebounds. “That s--- was fun as hell, excuse my language,” he said, politely. Wiseman ran the floor with energy, fought for rebounds and closed out on shooters — all things coaches have been hoping to see from him for weeks. The big takeaway, however, is how much more Wiseman was used in high screens. His six screen assists led to 14 Warriors’ points and scored multiple times after rolling to the basket. Going forward, getting Wiseman engaged and comfortable in the offense should lead to more performances like Tuesday’s.
Can we make a late playoff push? — @badapple3456
With the win (and the Pelicans’ loss), the Warriors built a 1 1/2-game cushion for the No. 10 seed and final play-in spot in the West and are the same distance from the No. 9 seeded Spurs. These next two games against the Wizards (Friday) and Rockets (Saturday) provide a chance to add some wins and close the gap. Plus, the Warriors have the fourth-easiest schedule over the remaining 21 games. If Stephen Curry keeps playing at this level, Wiseman makes a mini-leap and they can keep their hands to themselves (just 18 fouls Tuesday) then maybe they really are ready for a breakthrough.
Is there a reason why Juan ToscanoAnderson is having so many DNP’s lately? And what happened to the report of Juan possibly getting that final roster spot after the trade deadline? — @dub_rgt
After regularly playing 10 or 11 players per game, Steve Kerr recently shorted his rotation to nine. So some players who had been getting minutes were going to get stuck to the bench. Not only has Toscano-Anderson lost time, but also Mychal Mulder, Nico Mannion and Eric Paschall (even before his injury). Looking at the four who still come off the bench to play — Kent Bazemore, Kevon Looney, Damion Lee and Jordan Poole — it’s hard to argue they haven’t deserved the playing time either because of experience (in the case of Bazemore, Looney and Lee) or scoring upside (in the case of Poole). This isn’t to say Toscano-Anderson doesn’t have a role to play in the future, and it remains a strong possibility that he will end up with one of the two open roster spots before the end of the season.