The overwhelming amount of Brandin Podziemski criticism hasn’t quieted down, so Warriors coach Steve Kerr wanted to send Dub Nation a reminder about the former first-round pick.
Kerr acknowledged Podziemski isn’t perfect, but when asked on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard and Dibs” what he sees in the 23-year-old guard, Kerr didn’t shy away from all the positives Podziemski brings to Golden State.
“He’s got a really good feel for the game,” Kerr shared. “When he’s off the ball, he’s one of the best defensive players we have on our team, and I know people may not see that, but it’s the anticipation, it’s playing on the weak side, it’s weak sidehelp, it’s being disruptive, taking charges. He’s one of our best rebounders. Two straight 15-rebound games last week.
“Offensively, he’s still finding his way. I talk about it all the time, publicly, but getting off the ball early in a possession and then getting it back. He generates a lot of shots for us. Running through the catch, generating close outs and then all of a sudden we’re attacking five on four. He does that better than most of our guys. For us to generate good shots, he’s generally got to be out on the floor more often than not.”
For Warriors fans and basketball fans around the world, Podziemski has become an easy target since his notorious comments about wanting to be better than franchise icon Steph Curry.
Since then, he’s become a polarizing player and any mistakes he makes are magnified.
But as Kerr mentioned, there are plenty of under-the-radar contributions Podziemski brings that tend to be overshadowed by his flaws.
In 61 games this season (22 starts), Podziemski is averaging 12.4 points on 44.7-percent shooting from the field and 36.2 percent from 3-point range, with 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.5 turnovers in 27.4 minutes.
And for now, Kerr and the Warriors are focused on the positives the young guard brings to the team.
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